Warner Bros.

Everyone seems just as pumped for the Jay-Z-produced soundtrack for "The Great Gatsby" as they are for the flick itself.

But before we look ahead at what The Hova has in store for what we can only imagine will be the coolest-ever soundtrack to something you were forced to read in high school, let's look back at some of the all-time great movie songs.

20. Three 6 Mafia: 'Hard Out Here For a Pimp' ('Hustle & Flow')

Three 6 Mafia took home the Oscar for Best Original Song for this jam that confirmed what we had all already suspected: Pimpin' ain't easy. Terrence Howard and Taryn Manning's performances in "Hustle & Flow" were stellar, but there's little doubt that Three 6 Mafia's Oscar appearance, combined with host Jon Stewart's verbal Oscar tally ("Three 6 Mafia 1, Martin Scorcese 0") is what everyone remembers most about the movie.

19. Ray Parker Jr.: 'Ghostbusters' ('Ghostbusters')

Hypnotically catchy beat or blatant ripoff? Well, probably both. After human '80s embodiment Huey Lewis passed on writing a song for "Ghostbusters," Ray Parker Jr. stepped in and delivered a tune that sounded suspiciously like Lewis' "I Want a New Drug." Lewis sued and the case was settled out of court. Either way, Ray Parker Jr.'s theme assured both then-present and future generations that whenever someone asked the question "Who you gonna call?" at least one hi-larious jokester would answer accordingly.

18. Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer: 'Moon River' ('Breakfast at Tiffany's')

Since it was crooned by Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Moon River" has been recorded by, well, pretty much everyone. But before it was the ubiquitous standard it is today, it was written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini specifically to fit Hepburn's vocal range. "Moon River" is probably the third most memorable thing about the film, just trailing Hepburn's stunning beauty and Mickey Rooney's cringe-worthy portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi.

17. Simple Minds: 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' ('The Breakfast Club')

Simple Minds will forever be associated with "Don't You (Forget About Me)," perhaps the '80s-est '80s song of all time, made for the '80s-est '80s movie of all time, "The Breakfast Club." And the song will forever be associated with Judd Nelson's triumphant freeze-framed fist pump. Hey, if 1985-era Molly Ringwald was your new main squeeze, you'd be fist pumping, too.

16. Bruce Springsteen: 'The Wrestler' ('The Wrestler')

Just barely beating out "Streets of Philadelphia" for best Boss tune from a major motion picture, Springsteen's acoustic ditty for Mickey Rourke's comeback victory lap is quiet, melancholy and raw, just like Randy 'The Ram' Robinson himself.

15. Burt Bacharach and Hal David: 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head' ('Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid')

The happy-go-lucky "Raindrops" still seems a little out of place in a movie about 1890s train robbers, but it's hard to imagine "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" without it. Additional props to Bacharach and David for topping the charts with the song in 1970 — a time when delirious optimism wasn't all that groovy, man.

14. Kenny Loggins: 'Danger Zone' ('Top Gun')

While the "Top Gun" soundtrack delivered two synth-tastic hit songs, Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" is just a little too dentist-office-waiting-room-y for our purposes, so we'll go with "Danger Zone," the unrivaled anthem of cocky fighter pilots everywhere (RIP Goose). This one scores extra points for the out-of-nowhere sax solo at the end.

13. Survivor: 'Eye of the Tiger' ('Rocky III')

Before it was the go-to song for cliche montage parodies everywhere, "Eye of the Tiger" was the song for arguably the most famous montage of all time. Today, it still stands as the world's best tune to drink raw eggs and run up art museum steps to ... although we're not sure if we prefer the original or the "Team America: World Police" version.

12. Coolio: 'Gangsta's Paradise' ('Dangerous Minds')

It's probably fair to say that "Gangsta's Paradise" has outlasted "Dangerous Minds," the least hard movie about hard inner-city living to come out during the '90s. From the unforgettable synth beat to L.V.'s over-the-top delivery on the chorus and breakdown, "Gangsta's Paradise" is delicious mid-'90s rap goodness from top to bottom. The tune also notably inspired Weird Al to knock those smarmy Amish down a peg or two.

11. R. Kelly: 'I Believe I Can Fly' ('Space Jam')

Perhaps a little earnest for a movie about aliens playing basketball against wisecracking Looney Tunes characters and Michael Jordan, "I Believe I Can Fly" is still a total R. Kelly jam, and one of the choice songs for middle school graduations everywhere. Props to R. for advocating the power of positive thinking ten years before "The Secret" was on the shelves.

10. Radiohead: 'Exit Music (For A Film)' ('Romeo + Juliet')

Ah love, the loveliest of emotions. But Radiohead's opus "Exit Music (For a Film)" from Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" isn't about your average I-wanna-hold-your-hand type of love — we're talking I'll-poke-people's-eyes-out-if-people-even-glance-at-you crazy love, here. While the song probably isn't wedding-dance material, as a portrait of two lovesick puppies willing to kill to stay together, it fit "R + J" like a snug straightjacket.

9. The Bee Gees: 'Stayin' Alive' ('Saturday Night Fever')

"Stayin' Alive" is the ultimate callback to an era when clothes were tighter, voices were higher and facial hair was unironic. Really, as soon as the bassline drops you might as well be in the front seat of a DeLorean hurling towards 1977. The tune was a perfect theme for "Saturday Night Fever," a movie that is kinda about one young man's struggle to carve out an identity in New York City during the tumultuous '70s but is mostly just about John Travolta being really good at disco dancing.

8. Isaac Hayes: 'Theme From Shaft' ('Shaft')

Isaac Hayes doesn't so much sing on "Theme From Shaft" but rather simply describes in his inimitable Isaac Hayes voice the movie's titular character to a group of nameless, faceless, presumably sexy ladies who won't stand for his potty mouth. But that didn't stop "Shaft" from topping the charts in 1971, and it doesn't stop it from being the funkiest, sexiest, most blaxploitative song on this list.

7. Aimee Mann: 'Save Me' ('Magnolia')

Sparse, acoustic and gorgeous, "Save Me" was a perfect fit for Paul Thomas Anderson's oddball classic about regret, the power of coincidence and frogs' ability to totally mess up your weeknight plans.

6. Public Enemy: 'Fight the Power' ('Do the Right Thing')

Spike Lee commissioned "Fight the Power" for "Do The Right Thing," his 1989 drama about the lethal combination of racial tension and pressure cooker-esque New York City heat. The anti-authority anthem had a better fate than its boombox-blasting purveyor, Radio Raheem, later appearing on Public Enemy's "Fear of a Black Planet" in 1990 and continuing on as a battle cry against corruption to this day.

5. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova: 'Falling Slowly' ('Once')

Written for "Once," the musical love story for people who are way too cool for musical love stories, "Falling Slowly" is just about as pretty as songs get. In the movie, Glen Hansard's character teaches the song to Marketa Irglova's character in a music store, foreshadowing their not-quite romance (but hey, at least she got a piano out of the deal). If your heart didn't inflate Grinch-style when they took home the Oscar for Best Song in 2008, someone needs to check your chest cavity, you heartless person, you.

4. Elliott Smith: 'Miss Misery' ('Good Will Hunting')

"Miss Misery" might not immediately come to mind when you think of "Good Will Hunting," but Elliott Smith's sparse waltz — every bit as bleak as you'd expect — is a beaut. The song also resulted in one the most unforgettable images in Oscar History: the demure, mostly unknown Smith standing on stage alongside Celine Dion and Trisha Yearwood as "My Heart Will Go On" (duh) was announced as the winner for Best Song. We promise you, "Miss Misery" is the better tune.

3. Paul McCartney: 'Live and Let Die' ('Live and Let Die')

You could argue about the merits of McCartney's solo output all day, but there's no debating the quality of "Live and Let Die," an epic tune and a damn good James Bond theme. Guns N' Roses' suped-up version offers up some serious Slash shredding, but we'll take the frenetic McCartney original any day. There's a whole mess of Bond songs that you could argue for here (most notably "Skyfall" and any of Shirley Bassey's contributions), but "Live and Let Die" reigns supreme.

2. Eminem: 'Lose Yourself' ('8 Mile')

Eminem was at the top of his game and looking to conquer the silver screen and the rap charts when "8 Mile" was released in 2002. With its stadium-ready beat and lyrics about facing pressure and battling your demons, "Lose Yourself" was destined to become a hip-hop classic and the battle cry of early '00s high school basketball teams everywhere. As usual, Em didn't skimp on the vivid verbal imagery, which included an unnecessarily specific description of what a stain on his shirt consisted of. (Spoiler Alert: it's spaghetti vomit.)

1. Simon and Garfunkel: 'Mrs. Robinson' ('The Graduate')

Originally about Eleanor Roosevelt, the song only became "Mrs. Robinson" after director Mike Nichols was able to convince Paul Simon to change the lyrics to suit "The Graduate," his film about cougardom and the malaise of young adulthood. Besides being a flat-out unforgettable slice of Americana, "Mrs. Robinson" also marked one of the first times a pop group penned a song for a Hollywood movie ... as well as one of the first instances of athlete name-dropping in music.

Marvel

Your mother always told you that math would be important. As it turns out — and we're not just saying this because it's Mother's Day and flowers are really expensive and we need to start sucking up now — she's right.

We just bet you didn't know that you'd need that math to decide what to see this coming month. From the party that won't stop in "The Great Gatsby" to superheroes galore in "Iron Man 3," here's your arithmetic-driven guide to May 2013, the official beginning of summer movie season.

May 2

Iron Man 3

May 10

The Great Gatsby

Peeples

May 15

Star Trek Into Darkness

May 17

Black Rock

Frances Ha

May 24

Before Midnight

Epic

Fast and Furious 6

The Hangover 3

May 31

After Earth

Now You See Me

As we certainly like spreading humor mixed with discomfort all to and fro, we've conjured a collection of Summer Movie Face Swaps guaranteed to make you laugh so that you may not cry (though you may do that as well later). Behold, and remember that once you take a look, you can never take that look back.

'Star Trek Into Darkness' (May 17)

'Now You See Me' (May 31)

'World War Z' (June 21)

'The Great Gatsby' (May 10)

'The Internship' (June 7)

'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' (Aug. 23)

'After Earth' (May 31)

'Iron Man Three' (May 3)

More NextMovie Originals

View Gallery »

• Don't want to sit through every single summer movie trailer? Here's one trailer for the entire season. [Movies.com]

• Bay-Bashing! The 25 meanest things ever said by critics about Michael Bay movies. [Complex]

• Anyway, here are 9 reasons to actually go see the latest bit of Bay-hem, "Pain & Gain." [Guy Code Blog]

• NSFW! One more reason — meet The Rock's Russian girlfriend in this red band clip. [ScreenCrush]

• Movies depicted through pictograms. "The Lord of the Rings" is pretty simple for a 10-hour movie. [ActionBash]

• SPOILER ALERT! Benedict Cumberbatch's "Star Trek Into Darkness" character is revealed. [Hypable]

• All aboard! Marvel's Avengers Academy is coming to Disney Cruise Lines. [SlashFilm]

• He's more than just Agent Coulson, ya know. Clark Gregg walks us through 10 memorable roles. [Vulture]

• We'd resign if Michael Shannon read one of our emails out loud, too. [Yahoo! Shine]

• Not that you need it, but here's more proof that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be great in a "Guys and Dolls" movie. [Movieline]

• Did most critics just not "get" Terrence Malick's last two films? [The Week]

• Then and Now: The cast of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," which is a 22-year-old movie, by the way. [Death and Taxes]

• There will be explosions, there will be bus jumps, there will be fridge-nukes. [Grantland]

• Channing Tatum turns 33 this week. Celebrate his passion year with a collection of his hottest pics. [BuzzSugar]

• Baymageddon: One man tries to survive an entire day of Michael Bay. [Film.com]

• What's this about Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver being in "The Avengers 2"? [ScreenCrush]

• These Marvel Cinematic Universe characters deserve their own "One-Shot" short film. [Splash Page]

• Disney vs. Regal and Cinemark means "Iron Man 3" might be missing from some theaters. Which, in turn, means it might make only a kajillion dollars instead of two kajillion. [Hypable]

• Swoon Time! Will Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt bring "Guys and Dolls" to the big screen? [Hollywire]

• Buy Yoda's hut, you will. How much, it is? [Movoto]

• Kellan Lutz teaches us about the word "vibrate" on "Sesame Street." He sure does. [PopBytes]

• Here's proof that "Silent Hill" is really the sequel to "Kindergarten Cop." [BuzzFeed]

• Here's all of 1999 compressed into one 10-minute clip. [The Frisky]

• Hey, press is press! Why celebrity arrests are a good thing for arrested celebrities. [HyperVocal]

Marvel Films

It's summer, summer, summertime, time to sit back and unwind, as The Fresh Prince once rhymed. Iron Man, Wolverine, Superman and Hit-Girl are suiting up and the AC is pumping as studios trot out their big guns, eager to put butts in the seats with big stars, bigger explosions and lots of numbers after titles.

That's right, nearly a third of our list is sequels, there's even more that didn't make it, and that doesn't even count the reboots and potential franchise-starters in store as we dive headfirst into our glistening pool of summer movie bliss.

30. 'The Internship'

Release Date: June 7
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson
The Scoop: Since 2005 we've been champing at the bit for "Wedding Crashers" duo Vaughn and Wilson to re-team, and now nearly a decade later they're back in … a 90-minute ad for Google? Well, the premise has them pegged as two older salesmen trying to prove their relevance in the digital age by BS-ing their way into a competitive internship at the web browser, where the Gen-Xers butt heads with Gen-Y.

29. 'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'

Release Date: Aug. 23
Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower
The Scoop: Everyone's looking for next "Twilight," and this right here could be it. Collins stars as Clary Fray, an innocent young girl who gets swept up in a whole new world of magic and mysticism. Clary learns she is a half-human/half-angel hybrid known as a Shadowhunter and must do battle with all sorts of baddies, including Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the evil Valentine, who holds a major key to her past.

28. 'White House Down'

Release Date: June 28
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Scoop: Now that "Olympus Has Fallen" has fallen, it paves the way for director Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day") to do what he does best; namely, destroying the White House. This time around, instead of doing it with one shot of a laser beam, he's taking it apart brick by brick as terrorists invade 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and Tatum's Capitol security guy is the only one who can get President Sawyer (Foxx) out of deep s**t.

27. 'Fast & Furious 6'

Release Date: May 24
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson
The Scoop: They're back in the cars. This time it's personal? You bet. Dom (Diesel) learns that his perished lady love Letty (Rodriguez) is back from the dead (not in a zombie way) and working with a ruthless gang leader played by Luke Evans. Thusly, The Rock recruits the crew to take the bad guy down with the carrot of a full-pardon dangled as incentive.

26. 'Epic'

Release Date: May 24
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Beyoncé Knowles, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell
The Scoop: This is large-scale animated adventure from the creators of "Ice Age" offers a massive look at a micro world, where a young teen girl named Mary (Seyfried) gets downsized "Honey I Shrunk the Kids"-style and corralled into a huge battle between the good Leaf Men and evil Boggans. The film nearly jumped ship to Pixar before Fox changed their mind and decided to make it after all, so if this doesn't live up to its name there's gonna be a lot of explaining to do.

25. 'The Bling Ring'

Release Date: June 14
Starring: Emma Watson
The Scoop: Mischief managed indeed. "Harry Potter" star Watson is a girl gone wild as she and a gaggle of loosey-goosey teens decide to form a gang and rob their favorite celebrities, including Paris Hilton, who plays herself. Based on real girls who really robbed Hilton and other really shallow peeps, this will undoubtedly be another snapshot of wealthy excess from "Lost in Translation" Academy Award-winner Sofia Coppola.

24. '2 Guns'

Release Date: Aug. 2
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington, Paula Patton
The Scoop: Wahlberg. Washington. Where do we sign up? The testosterone-infused pair play a couple undercovers unwittingly investigating each other, who discover they're actually being framed by the CIA in some elaborate scam. If we know our action movies, it's gonna take several wild shootouts and maybe a car chase or two to set things right.

23. 'We're the Millers'

Release Date: Aug. 9
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms
The Scoop: Sudeiekis and Aniston try to recapture some of that "Horrible Bosses" energy with this madcap comedy about a pot dealer who fabricates a family made up of a stripper, a homeless teen and a geeky British kid in order to bring a ton (actually two tons) of weed over the border. This is director Rawson Marshall Thurber's first comedy since 2004's hilarious "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," and might we say it's about high time he did another one.

22. 'Before Midnight'

Release Date: May 24
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
The Scoop: Richard Linklater's other two "Before" movies chronicled cute couple Jesse and Celine as they met cute in Vienna and continued to talk cute nine years later. After another nine-year increment, they're still together and, yes, still cute. Now they have twin girls of their own, with Jesse still experiencing success as a writer while Celine contemplates a change. If early word is any indication, expect another unanimously-praised gab fest from modern masters of the art form.

21. 'After Earth'

Release Date: May 31
Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith
The Scoop: Okay, so the last time M. Night Shyamalan delved into fantasy territory we got "The Last Crapbender," but "After Earth" has one key element that enterprise didn't have: Will Smith. The Fresh Prince (when can we start calling him The Fresh King?) is the real mastermind behind this sci-fi adventure, co-writing and producing it and starring alongside real-life progeny Jaden as a father-son team who get stranded on a post-apocalyptic Earth covered head-to-toe with monsters.

20. 'Despicable Me 2'

Release Date: July 3
Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Al Pacino
The Scoop: You wanted more adorable yellow Minions. You got 'em. It's Carell vs. Pacino as the former supervillain takes on a new nemesis in the form of Eduardo so he can say good night to the bad guy. The first "Despicable Me" was a delightful surprise, so let's hope they can deliver another one now that there are actual expectations ... not to mention lots of other animated competition.

19. 'R.I.P.D.'

Release Date: July 19
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Bacon
The Scoop: Let the "Men in Black" comparisons begin! The trailer essentially plays out like "MiB" with ghosts, but Jeff Bridges' rootin' tootin' sheriff of the hereafter, Roy Pulsipher, is breakin' in his new partner Nick (Ryan Reynolds) in a most unexpected way: inhabiting the bodies of a hot chick and an old Chinese guy, respectively. Nice touch, boys.

18. 'The Hangover Part III'

Release Date: May 24
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Melissa McCarthy
The Scoop: The wolf pack is back again, and if you thought "Part II" was a carbon copy of the first one then let it be known that in "Part III" things are coming full circle. Yes, the gang is back in Vegas for a plot that involves a hunt for Ken Jeong's Leslie Chow in exchange for Justin Bartha's Doug, who's being held hostage this time around.

17. 'The Way, Way Back'

Release Date: July 5
Starring: AnnaSophia Robb, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Sam Rockwell
The Scoop: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash deservedly earned an Oscar (and made fun of Angelina Jolie's dress) for "The Descendents," thus earning their right to make a movie of their own. First love is just one of the items on the menu as 14-year-old Duncan (Liam James) spends summer vacation with his mom and winds up being mentored by a wacky water park manager played by Rockwell.

16. 'Elysium'

Release Date: Aug. 9
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga
The Scoop: Neill Blomkamp made his mark with the visionary sci-fi Apartheid parable "District 9" and looks to be making another statement about extreme social stratification with his sophomore effort. Damon plays a soldier who uses a special weaponized suit to attempt access to the title space station where the wealthy receive medical attention and luxury. Sounds like an exclusive spa worth fighting for.

15. 'The Lone Ranger'

Release Date: July 3
Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer
The Scoop: Whoa, kemosabe, this crazy-ass-looking western could either be fun on the bun … or "Wild Wild West Redux." Even though it's called "The Lone Ranger," this is most definitely Tonto's movie, with Johnny Depp trying to capture some of that Captain Jack lightning in a bottle again with help from original "Pirates" director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. They ride for justice ... and a bigger payday for the sequel.

14. 'The Spectacular Now'

Release Date: Aug. 2
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler
The Scoop: The always-charming Teller ("Project X") plays a high school senior who lives for the moment, but after the budding alcoholic gets dumped by his girlfriend he meets Aimee (Woodley), a nerdy nice girl who dreams about the future. Word out of Sundance has this pegged as a charming, John Hughes-esque tale of teen angst that could very well become the sleeper hit of the summer.

13. 'Now You See Me'

Release Date: May 31
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine
The Scoop: "The Prestige" couldn't do it, "The Illusionist" didn't cut it, and Penn & Teller definitely don't got it, so is this going to be the first movie to make magic actually seem cool and sexy? Eisenberg uses his brainy powers to magically steal money and give it out to his audience, unless Ruffalo can stop him (without Hulking out).

12. 'The Purge'

Release Date: May 31
Starring: Lena Headey, Ethan Hawke
The Scoop: After the stunning success of "Sinister," Hawke is on a horror jag, this time pairing with "Game of Thrones" beauty Headey as heads of a family that must protect themselves during a night when anyone can commit a crime consequence-free. That's a scary-ass premise, especially when dudes in creepy masks start banging down your door.

11. 'The World's End'

Release Date: Aug. 23
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman
The Scoop: Edgar Wright concludes his loose "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy that began with "Shaun of the Dead" and continued with "Hot Fuzz." Pegg and Frost are childhood friends who reunite with a few other lads to recreate an epic pub crawl but get caught up in that whole apocalypse deal. Actually, we're not sure if that apocalypse is natural, biblical, robotic or alien as extreme secrecy shrouds the project, but considering this team has never let us down we don't know why they'd start now.

10. 'World War Z'

Release Date: June 21
Starring: Brad Pitt
The Scoop: It's the first epic zombie movie, and we do mean EPIC. You could have made twenty low-budget zombie movies for what this one cost, but for that price tag you get a shaggy-haired Brad Pitt as a UN guy globetrotting to find a cure for the zombie hordes that are toppling whole societies as they form into massive swarms we call "zombie globs." Gross. Based on the popular novel by Max Brooks, who's Mel's son ... but don't expect the zombies to suddenly burst into "Springtime For Hitler."

9. 'The Wolverine'

Release Date: July 26
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Will Yun Lee
The Scoop: After several false starts, including original director Darren Aronofsky dropping out, this stand-alone adventure finds Jackman's Logan arriving in Japan where an old friend offers to give him the gift of mortality. That's just in time for him to take on the entire Yakuza in a battle over the love of Mariko (Tao Okamoto), where he just may find his mutant healing powers handy. This adaptation of the classic Chris Claremont/Frank Miller story from the '80s has the distinct advantage of not possibly being any worse than the last Wolverine outing.

8. 'Kick-Ass 2'

Release Date: Aug. 16
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
The Scoop: The first "Kick-Ass" gave new meaning to the term "child endangerment," as every bad guy in that movie got endangered by Moretz's pint-sized assassin Hit-Girl. Now she and Dave (Taylor-Johnson) will join forces with underground crimefighters led by reformed mobster Colonel Stars and Stripes (Carrey) to battle an army of supervillains led by McLovin himself.

7. 'The Great Gatsby'

Release Date: May 10
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire
The Scoop: F. Scott Fitzgerald's time-honored literary masterpiece gets an MTV-friendly makeover as "Moulin Rouge!" helmer Baz Luhrmann goes hog-wild with his usual lavish sets and anachronistic soundtrack, courtesy of Jay-Z. This jazz age chronicle of new money clashing with old in the roaring '20s has DiCaprio's Gatsby trying to reignite the love he and Daisy Buchanan (Mulligan) once had, with a little help from Maguire's Nick Carraway.

6. 'Monsters University'

Release Date: June 21
Starring: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Helen Mirren, Steve Buscemi
The Scoop: Pixar has made more than their fair share of sequels, with "Finding Dory" on the way, but this represents their first attempt at a prequel. This is perhaps Goodman and Crystal's only chance to play younger, thinner versions of themselves as Sulley and Mike embark on an intense curriculum as they frat, prank and scare their way through college. Big kegger at Monster House!

5. 'This Is the End'

Release Date: June 12
Starring: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson
The Scoop: It's the Apatow gang's "Avengers"-style team-up movie, as Franco, Rogen, et al. play themselves trapped in a Hollywood mansion as the Biblical apocalypse ravages the world. They're forced to fight over the last Milky Way bar, drink their own urine and survive some serious calamities, including having their supplies stolen by Emma Watson.

4. 'Star Trek Into Darkness'

Release Date: May 17
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch
The Scoop: Captain's Log, Stardate AWESOME. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and all the rest are back for another go-round in the lens flare-riddled universe of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek." Unlike most previous "Trek"s, this one seems to emphasize Earth-bound action as John Harrison (Cumberbatch) enacts a catastrophic revenge scheme on the federation. Abrams swears up-and-down Harrison isn't Kahn, but do you honestly trust this guy? | Watch the trailer

3. 'Man of Steel'

Release Date: June 14
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe
The Scoop: Ever since Richard Donner's 1978 take on the Last Son of Krypton we've been consistently let down by Superman on the big screen, but director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan are looking to end the big blue boy scout's losing streak with an epic modern re-imagining. Cavill's Clark Kent goes on a long, bearded spiritual journey before taking up the cape, with an intrepid/sexy Daily Planet reporter and an evil Kryptonian general both hot on his heels.

2. 'Pacific Rim'

Release Date: July 12
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day
The Scoop: Guillermo del Toro is gonna layeth the smacketh DOWN this summer. It's mechas vs. kaijus, or robots vs. monsters for the layman, all on a scale never before dreamed of by fans of Japanese "Godzilla" movies. Early word says this could be the next "Star Wars," or simply the $150-million-dollar version of a deranged little boy playing with his toys in the bathtub. Either way, we're there.

1. 'Iron Man 3'

Release Date: May 3
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle
The Scoop: Okay, maybe we've seen this movie already and maybe we haven't, but just maybe it will rock your rocket boots off. It seems this time around Tony Stark has to go mano-a-mano with his most fearsome foe yet, the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), all while trying to figure out where he stands in the eternal triangle between himself, Pepper Potts (Paltrow) and those many lovely suits of armor of his.

The Runners-Up:

MAY
Michael Shannon plays real-life contract killer/mass murderer/family man Richard Kuklinski in "The Iceman" (May 3); Craig Robinson gets a rare starring role as a dude trying to impress his fiancé's family in "Peeples" (May 10); Greta Gerwig does the Noah Baumbach two-step as an enthusiastic hipster in "Frances Ha" (May 17); and three quirky boys run away and build their own lair in the woods in "The Kings of Summer" (May 31).

JUNE
Joss Whedon does the Bard proud with his modern-dress Shakespeare adaptation "Much Ado About Nothing" (June 7); Sandra Bulloch and Melissa McCarthy play good cop/psycho cop in "The Heat" (June 28); Pedro Almadovar sets his latest farce aboard a doomed airplane in "I'm So Excited" (June 28); and Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton make a "Twilight" for smart people in vampire flick "Byzantium" (June 28).

JULY
Adam Sandler and his buddies use the term "grown up" loosely in  "Grown Ups 2" (July 12); Bruce Willis and his geriatric pals lock and load for "Red 2" (July 19); real-life paranormal investigators The Warrens are called in to reckon with "The Conjuring" (July 19); Ryan Gosling bangs guys up in Bangkok's underworld in "Only God Forgives" (July 19); and Woody Allen brings us more neurotic delights with "Blue Jasmine" (July 26).

AUGUST
More Spartans means more greased-up abs in "300: Rise of an Empire" (Aug. 2); "Disney's Planes" (Aug. 9) cashes in on whatever dollars they left on the table after "Cars"; the fantasy gravy train keeps rolling on as we set sail for "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" (Aug. 9) and Aubrey Plaza has a lot of sex on the agenda in "The To Do List" (Aug 16). Finally, it's not looking good for you (if you're the killers) in the late-summer horror revenge-fest "You're Next" (Aug. 23).

Universal

Of course, we've seen a number of them on to the silver screen already — including Leighton Meester "That's My Boy" and "The Oranges" and Blake Lively in Oliver Stone's "Savages."

Since the world of these privileged few thrives on competition, it only made sense to see which GG star's movie career leaves the rest of the beautiful people in the dust. Read our (very scientific) rankings to find out, then weigh in yourself in our poll below.

5. Ed Westwick

Warner Bros.

He may have gotten his big break as Chuck Bass, the "bad boy" of the Upper East Side, but since then he has branched out, even playing (gasp!) a ski club stud in the 2011 hit romantic comedy "Chalet Girl" opposite Felicity Jones. Westwick also landed a solid part as Agent Smith in the Clint Eastwood-directed Leonardo DiCaprio starrer "J. Edgar," and recently tackled the role of Tybalt in the latest "Romeo and Juliet" reboot. Though it doesn't hit theaters until sometime in 2013, we're sure the girls will be lining up.

4. Chace Crawford

Lionsgate

His sister Candice just had a baby with Tony Romo, but Chace Crawford is the one delivering the goods — on-screen, that is. The "Gossip Girl" golden boy recently proved to be a true scene-stealer with his turn in the ensemble romantic comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting." Not only that, but he also held his own opposite Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Olsen in "Peace, Love and Misunderstanding." Fonda's kind of intimidating, so you've gotta give the guy props for that.

3. Leighton Meester

Columbia Pictures

If there's one thing her recent movie career has proven, it's that there's more to Leighton Meester than Blair Waldorf. The brunette beauty first landed small roles in flicks like "Date Night" and "Going the Distance," but when she stepped onstage in "Country Strong," she took her game to a whole new level. That girl can sing! And she didn't stop there. After starring in the horror film "The Roommate" and the dramedy "The Oranges," she's showing off her comedy chops in Adam Sandler's latest, "That's My Boy."

2. Penn Badgley

Lionsgate

We're not sure if it's his chiseled cheekbones or smoldering gaze, but to be honest, we don't care. Perhaps that's why Lonely Boy transitioned so easily to the big screen. Badgley blew it out of the water in the horror flick "The Stepfather," playing a military student who comes home and isn’t so sure about his mom's new man. He also captured our hearts as Woodchuck Todd (best name ever) in "Easy A" and even managed to make Wall Street suit likable in "Margin Call" — no small feat. Next up, Badgley will play Jeff Buckley in "Greetings from Tim Buckley," a part that promises to give him even more time to shine.

1. Blake Lively

Universal

So who's in our number one spot? Blake Lively, of course. (Was there ever any doubt?) Before she was Serena van der Woodsen, Lively had starred in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," and, while she wasn't necessarily a household name, she was definitely on the map. Since then, she's only gotten better and better, taking on a somewhat risky role as a rough-around-the-edges chick in Ben Affleck's "The Town" and nailing her parts in the quirky dramas "Hick" and Oliver Stone's "Savages." And then there's that part where she's married to Ryan Reynolds. Not that that has anything to do with her film career, but still.

(Originally published on July 3, 2012.)

Warner Bros.

The results of our epic summer movie poll are in and with nearly 20,000 votes, your choice is clear: "The Dark Knight Rises" is officially the top film of the summer of 2012.

And it wasn't even close, with "The Dark Knight Rises" winning Best Movie over "The Avengers" by a count of 63 percent to 20 percent and Best Action Movie over "The Avengers" by a final tally of 69 percent to 25 percent. Plus, star Tom Hardy won Standout Male Star by an overwhelming margin of 75 percent to 9 percent over second place finisher Andrew Garfield, while Anne Hathaway won Standout Female Star 65 percent to 13 percent over Garfield's "Amazing Spider-Man" co-star Emma Stone.

In fact, it probably would have been a clean sweep for "The Dark Knight Rises" if not for the fact that it wasn't eligible in several categories. That was good news for "Moonrise Kingdom" (which easily won Best Indie with 65 percent of the vote), "Ted" (which edged out "Moonrise Kingdom" for Best Comedy 44 percent to 40 percent), "The Mortal Instruments" (which, thanks to the book series' ever-building fanbase and some support from the author herself, ran away with the Most Anticipated Summer Movie of 2013 with 79 percent of the vote) and "Savages" (which provided the poll's biggest surprise by winning, well, the Biggest Surprise category over "Magic Mike," 41 percent to 27 percent).

And there was no chance, of course, of "The Dark Knight Rises" even being nominated in categories like Worst Movie, which Adam Sandler's "That's My Boy" won over "Battleship" by a margin of 39 percent to 22 percent, or Biggest Disappointment, which saw "The Bourne Legacy" top a virtual four way tie with "Dark Shadows," "Rock of Ages" and "Prometheus."

Here are the complete results:

Marvel/Disney

BEST MOVIE
"The Dark Knight Rises" – 63%
"The Avengers" – 20%
"The Amazing Spider-Man – 8%
"Ted" – 4%
"Magic Mike" – 3%
"Moonrise Kingdom" – 1%

STANDOUT MALE STAR
Tom Hardy in "The Dark Knight Rises" – 75%
Andrew Garfield in "The Amazing Spider-Man" – 9%
Channing Tatum in "Magic Mike" – 7%
The Hulk in "The Avengers" – 7%
Mark Wahlberg in "Ted" – 1%
Josh Brolin in "Men in Black 3" – 1%

STANDOUT FEMALE STAR
Anne Hathaway in "The Dark Knight Rises" – 65%
Emma Stone in "The Amazing Spider-Man" – 13%
Charlize Theron in "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Prometheus" – 12%
Noomi Rapace in "Prometheus" – 7%
Princess Merida in "Brave" – 3%
Blake Lively in "Savages" – 1%

Universal

BEST COMEDY
"Ted" – 44%
"Moonrise Kingdom" – 40%
"The Dictator" – 6%
"Safety Not Guaranteed" – 5%
"The Campaign" – 5%

BEST ACTION
"The Dark Knight Rises" – 69%
"The Avengers" – 25%
"The Expendables 2" – 3%
"The Amazing Spider-Man" – 2%
"The Bourne Legacy" – 1%
"Men in Black 3" – 1%

BEST INDIE
"Moonrise Kingdom" – 65%
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" – 11%
"Safety Not Guaranteed" – 9%
"Searching for Sugar Man" – 5%
"Celeste and Jesse Forever" – 5%
"Ruby Sparks" – 5%

Universal Studios

BIGGEST SURPRISE
"Savages" – 41%
"Magic Mike" – 27%
"Men in Black 3" – 20%
"Katy Perry: Part of Me" – 8%
"Hope Springs" – 5%

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
"The Bourne Legacy – 23%
"Dark Shadows" – 23%
"Rock of Ages" – 22%
"Prometheus" – 22%
"Snow White and the Huntsman" – 10%

WORST MOVIE
"That's My Boy" – 39%
"Battleship" – 22%
"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" – 21%
"Total Recall" – 9%
"The Watch" – 9%

MOST ANTICIPATED SUMMER MOVIE OF 2013
"The Mortal Instruments" – 79%
"Iron Man 3" – 10%
"Man of Steel" – 6%
"Star Trek 2" – 3%
"World War Z" – 1%
"Pacific Rim" – 1%

Summer Movie Flipbook 2012

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Sony / Sony / Fox

NEXT: Which 2013 summer movie are you must looking forward to? >>

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Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. / Universal

NEXT: What was the worst movie of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: What movie was the biggest surprise of the summer? <<

Warner Bros. / Paramount / Sony

NEXT: What was the biggest disappointment of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: What was the best indie movie of the summer? <<

FilmDistrict / Focus Features / Fox Searchlight

NEXT: What was the biggest surprise this summer? >>

PREVIOUS: What was this summer's best action movie? <<

NEXT: What was the best indie movie of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: What was the best comedy movie of the summer? <<

This poll will close on Aug. 30, 2012, at 12 p.m. ET

Focus Features / Universal / Paramount

NEXT: What was the best action movie of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: Who was the standout female this summer? <<

This poll will close on Aug. 30, 2012, at 12 p.m. ET

Sony / Warner Bros. / Universal

NEXT: What was the best comedy movie of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: Who was the standout male this summer? <<

This poll will close on Aug. 30, 2012, at 12 p.m. ET

Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. / Sony

NEXT: Who was the standout female star of the summer? >>

PREVIOUS: What was the best movie of the summer? <<

This poll will close on Aug. 30, 2012, at 12 p.m. ET

Warner Bros. / Marvel Studios / Universal

The summer movie season is over, and over the past four months, we've witnessed some high-flying action, raunchy comedies and indies bursting into the spotlight. Whether you're a fan of superheroes, enjoy a shirtless Channing Tatum or prefer foul-mouthed teddy bears, there was something for everyone in theaters this summer.

So which movie lived up to the hype and delivered all the thrills and chills, laughs and gasps, tears and cheers you were hoping for this summer? Let us know which of summer's best movies you think reigned supreme — then come back every day to vote in a brand-new poll.

NEXT: Who was the standout male star of the summer? >>

This poll will close on Aug. 30, 2012, at 12 p.m. ET

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One look at Chris Zylka and it's clear why the young actor is in hot demand: he's drop-dead gorgeous. His looks have served him well. The actor, who got his start by modeling (big surprise), has done his fair share of TV work and has appeared in several features, but none as big as "The Amazing Spider-Man," Marvel's anticipated reboot of its most successful franchise. In the Marc Webb ("(500) Days of Summer")-directed action epic, Zylka plays Peter Parker's (Andrew Garfield) high-school nemesis Flash Thompson.

Age: 27

Hometown: Warren, Ohio

What He's Done: If you watch a lot of TV, chances are you're familiar with Zylka's handsome features. He got his start on the revamped "90210" series and went on to appear in "Cougar Town," "10 Things I Hate About You," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Hannah Montana." He made his big-screen debut a memorable one by stripping down to his skivvies for Gregg Araki's horny-teen apocalyptic comedy "Kaboom," in which he played the stoner roommate of the lead character. Since "Kaboom," Zylka's stuck to the horror genre on-screen, with supporting performances in both "Shark Night 3D" and "Piranha 3DD."

Also Check Out: 10 Things You Need to Know About "The Amazing Spider-Man"

What He's Doing Now: With "The Amazing Spider-Man" just days away from opening worldwide, Zylka is touring the globe in support of his breakthrough blockbuster.

Reminds Us of: Matt Damon in his "Good Will Hunting Days." Zylka, like Damon, has a smile to melt hearts.

View Gallery »

Acting and modeling aren't the only two things Zylka is passionate about. In an interview with VMan, he admitted to another love: painting. "It kind of gives you a look inside the mind, and what’s going on in the mind of whoever painted the piece," he said. "People are usually dumbfounded when they look at a piece I’ve finished. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing."

Oh, and ladies -- he's taken. The heartthrob is currently dating "Pretty Little Liars" actress Lucy Hale. Our apologies.

Quotable: "Everyone in the world knows Spider-Man,” he told Out Magazine back in February. "And to be accepted into such a large franchise was overwhelming. You have to settle yourself down and realize it is a job and I have to work and I have to be good."

Twitter Handle: @ChrisZylka

What's Next: With no projects on the horizon, Zylka is probably banking on how "The Amazing Spider-Man" will perform. If the buzz is to be believed, he'll be just fine.

Magnolia Pictures

In "Take This Waltz," Margot (Michelle Williams) has a good life. She’s happily married to Lou (Seth Rogen), the successful author of a chicken cookbook, and they’re living comfortably. If you were a fly on the wall in their home, you’d assume this young couple was so passionate for each other that their young romance would last 'till death do them part. But something soon seems off with Margot. She’s empty inside.

Coming home from a business trip, she meets Daniel (Luke Kirby), a passionate painter who makes ends meet as a rickshaw driver. Margot and Daniel immediately hit it off, transcending into an unconventional friendship farther than she and Lou could ever reach. She starts to fall for Daniel, but fights -- hard -- to resist the temptation of getting physically and mentally involved with another man. As the days go by, the temptation gets harder and the emptiness grows. "Take This Waltz" is a remarkable, offbeat love story about how not all perfect romances have a fairy tale beginning or end.

"Take This Waltz" asks questions and challenges true love. Can someone be happily married and fall deeply in love for someone else? Will it be easy? Margot and Lou’s relationship seem so perfect. Throughout the film, they show their undying love by telling each other horrifically cute things like, “I just bought a new melon baller and I’d like to gouge out your eyeballs with it,” followed quickly by, “I love you so much.” When the heart wants something else, this tactic doesn’t work anymore.

Also Check Out: Q&A: Michelle Williams Doesn't Want You to Settle

Michelle Williams as the lead no longer has anything to prove. She’s one of the few who broke away from teen idol typecasting (does anyone actually remember her anymore from "Dawson’s Creek"?) to become one of the most prolific working actors currently working. That said, the staggering performances in this movie are from Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman. They both come from a background of filthy comedy and take their stab at, for once, being taken seriously. And they both do this without flaw. Silverman plays Geraldine, a recovering alcoholic who bides her time by taking exercise swimming courses with the elderly at a local YMCA. Lou is a kind-hearted man who sees the big picture on marriage -- it might be a slow burn at times, but it's supposed to last a lifetime. It’s exciting to know how far of a range these two actors have.

"Take This Waltz" is an unconventional look at the new and wondrous feeling of falling in love. It’s not always easy, especially in Margot’s case, but writer and director Sarah Polley has made it look beautiful. In the end, this film is all about Polley and what this promising director is capable of. We congratulate her for showing romance in a new and daring way.

Follow Chase Whale on Twitter.

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Yes, we're excited for "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Amazing Spider-Man." But if you ask us (and you just did – no, really, we heard you), the movie that's going to make our summer special is "Magic Mike." It's not only meat-packed with some of the best-looking men working in Hollywood today, but it's based on Channing Tatum's life. Everything you see on-screen was inspired by actual events, which makes it all that much more tantalizing.

Plus, it's just fun. A lot of summer films offer shirtless dudes, but how many have based an entire movie around their ability to look good shirtless, pantless and dancing? Zero. Mark our words, "Magic Mike" is gonna be huge. And after it blows away the box office, you know what the studio will be thinking: Sequel! We've known we wanted a "Magic Mike 2" ever since the trailer came out.

So, to give the studio a head start, here's eight guys we'd like to see take it all off for a twenty in "Magic Mike 2."

Chris Hemsworth

Getty Images

We can pick the exact moment we said "I like this Hemsworth guy!", and it was when he nonchalantly buttoned his jeans in front of Kat Dennings and Natalie Portman in "Thor." Yes, we came to love him more for the growly charm he gave the God of Thunder and his Huntsman, but come on, there's nothing wrong with admiring a god's body. A turn in "Magic Mike 2" would let him take it off, show it off, and top it of with that big, beautiful smile we don't see enough of. Ideally, his strip tease will have some kind of "Bringing the thunder" angle just to give a nod and wink to the role that made him an action icon.

Alexander Skarsgård

Getty Images

Fans of "True Blood" have seen just about all there is of Skarsgård, and it's enough to know we can't ever get enough. But we'd like to see the whole package do something a bit different from all that glowering and blood-sucking. We want to see him dance, like he did as the ill-fated Meekus in "Zoolander." We're thinking he can team up with Hemsworth for a Scandinavian theme, but if Vikings seem too obvious for the blondes, maybe Skarsgard's number can be minimalist, futuristic and ultramodern. Basically, we just want him in black leather.

Josh Holloway

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When "Lost" ended, we thought we'd be buried in a delicious pile-up of Holloway movie roles. But that hasn't happened. To make up for it, let's get him onstage thrusting along to some house music. Since "castaway" isn't a particularly enticing number, we're going to ask that he borrow a page from his "Community" cameo and don the traditional stripper outfit of a cowboy hat, some chaps, and ... well, nothing else except his beard scruff.

Taylor Kitsch

Getty Images

Three (count 'em, three!) big movies in 2012 have whetted our appetite for more Kitsch ... especially since he spent so much of "John Carter" dressed in a glorified loincloth. The only problem with all three films is that Kitsch was in pure action mode, and we'd like to see him smile, strut and flash those abs like a man who is truly proud of them. We don't want to be crass and suggest he should recycle his Navy uniform from "Battleship" ... but we've gone there in our minds, so we'll just walk away now.

Isaiah Mustafa

Getty Images

One might say that Mustafa has already given us a strip show in his "Old Spice" ads, since he travels to exotic locales wearing only a towel. But owing to the unfortunate tendency of towels to fall off, he's forced just to stand there and talk to us. We want to see Mustafa move. We don't know what kind of routine would suit this manliest of men, but perhaps he should buck expectations of performing as a fireman or a cop, and go for the well-fitted tuxedo.

Kit Harington

Getty Images

"Game of Thrones" has become legendary for its nudity, but one young stud who has stubbornly refused to disrobe is Kit Harington (aka Jon Snow). Oh sure, his character spends his time at a wall made of ice and snow, but are you telling us he never needs to take a bath? Do laundry? Change his clothes? Since "Thrones" won't de-clothe him, a movie will have to. We're not sure what routine suits him – nothing medieval, the clothing is just too clunky – but we do know he has the perfect smolder to hypnotize us while he unbuttons.

Jared Padalecki

Getty Images

Padalecki has been faithfully hunking it out on "Supernatural" for several years now, so it's time to bring those good looks to the A-list in something that's not splattered with blood, guts and monsters. While Googling ideas for his routine, we came across a site devoted purely to his posterior ... and it looks so good in jeans, we're going to suggest he sticks with a suggestively ripped pair that will come off at just the right beat.

Ian Somerhalder

Getty Images

It's hard to see past "Vampire Diairies" star Somerhalder's electric blue eyes, but if there's one thing that can make us blink, it would be if he tossed us his jacket and tore away his pants. If he doesn't nab the part of Christian Grey in the inevitable "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie, then here's his chance to fulfill all those fantasies involving handcuffs, whips and his icy eyes, but in a far more crowd-pleasing (and less painful) way.

Warner Bros.

Channing Tatum is cashing in on his younger glory days as a stripper in Florida with the semi-autobiographical film "Magic Mike."

Academy Award-winner Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic," "Ocean's Eleven") directs this scintillating (or is that skintillating?) inside look at the Xquisite strip club where Magic Mike Martingano (Tatum) takes a young rookie called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing while trying to spread his own wings with The Kid's sister. Matthew McConaughey costars as club owner/impresario Dallas along with a whole stable of purebred beefcake.

1. No cops to stop these horny gals from copping a feel.

2. Tatum talks turkey.

3. There's only one logical explanation for the tube socks, thongs, sailor hat and leg shaving: He's a swimmer.

4. When it comes to stripping, Magic Mike is the Ginuwine article.

5. Damn, when it rains men, it pours removable bow ties.

6. For fifties he'll appear in another "G.I. Joe" movie.

People Like Us (DreamWorks)

When billion-dollar screenwriter Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers") decided to craft his feature directorial debut "People Like Us" he chose a vehicle that tugs at the heartstrings, as opposed to one that turns into a giant robot.

The story centers on Sam (Chris Pine), whose estranged record-producer father dies and wills him to deliver $150,000 to a sister he never knew. When he meets Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) and her 12-year-old son, the three of them form an unlikely family. Olivia Wilde costars.

1. Bob Dylan + Keith Moon ÷ Crabs = Bonding.

2. We believe she's referring to her bosom, but we could be wrong.

3. Sam isn't too shy about expressing his resentment towards Kajagoogoo.

4. After this tearful moment, he tactfully asks Michelle Pfeiffer to sign his "Grease 2" soundtrack.

5. Jon Favreau is so money and he definitely knows it.

6. Gee, we wonder where he got that anger from?

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

No film garnered more praise and buzz at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival than "Beasts of the Southern Wild," Benh Zeitlin's expressionistic take on life for New Orleans residents post-Katrina. Manhola Dargis from The New York Times praised it as "one of the best films to play at the festival in two decades," while The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy went so far as to call it "one of the most striking films to ever debut" at Sundance. The festival also fell under the spell of "Beasts" by awarding it with two big prizes: the Cinematography Award and the Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic film.

In case all the praise and accolades haven't sold you yet (did we mention it also nabbed two awards at the Cannes Film Festival?), then let us do the work: "Beasts" is a one-of-a-kind experience. Moving, profound, majestic, funny and ethereal, "Beasts" belies its indie roots to deliver an epic tale sure to resonate with audiences young and old. In other words: the hype is more than warranted.

You know you're in for something special from the film's very first scenes. Zeitlin introduces you to his make-believe community of the Bathtub off the coast of southern Louisiana, where six-year-old girl Hushpuppy (remarkable newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis), lives with her tough father, Wink (Dwight Henry), on the swampier side of a levee. The world Zeitlin conjures up is remarkably lived in, fascinating and strange. Think of it as the mico-budget antithesis to what James Cameron did in creating Pandora for "Avatar." This is a world to get lost in.

Also Check Out: Next Factor Q&A: "Beasts of the Southern Wild" Star Quvenzhané Wallis

At school, a teacher warns Hushpuppy and her class that "Any day now, the fabric of the universe is coming unraveled." And come unraveled it does. Far north of the Bathtub, the ice caps come crashing down, giving way to a massive impending storm, and bringing back to life the previously frozen ancient "beasts" of the title. Just to raise the stakes even higher for the pint-sized but extremely self-reliant Hushpuppy, she learns that her father is suffering from a terminal illness. With her world literally coming to an end, Hushpuppy sets out on a journey to reunite with her long lost mother.

If that all sounds remarkably ambitious for a film with a miniscule budget, it is. But somehow (and we're not sure how) Zeitlin pulls it all off with total aplomb. The aforementioned beasts awe with their scale, while the flooded landscapes that populate the film are totally credible.

Given what he managed to do with "Beasts," we can't wait to see what Zeitlin can accomplish with a studio-size budget when the times comes -- and judging by the great word of mouth surrounding his feature film debut, that time will no doubt be sooner than later. But before that time comes, we urge you to see "Beasts." We have a feeling this is the first of many great things to come from Zeitlin, a Terrence Malick in the making if there ever was one.

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With her model looks and girl-next-door attitude, Denise Richards made a name for herself in the '90s as eye candy in "Starship Troopers," "Wild Things" and the James Bond outing "The World is Not Enough." She's acted in several comedies since proving her knack for them with "Drop Dead Gorgeous," and she continues that streak with this week's Tyler Perry vehicle "Madea's Witness Protection."

Richards plays Kate, the younger second wife of Eugene Levy's George Needleman. When George gets inadvertently embroiled in a Ponzi scheme, their wealthy family enters the protection of the working class and VERY volatile Madea (Perry). We recently talked to the still stunning 41-year-old Richards about improvising with Levy and whether Perry maintains his Madea persona while directing.

When you see someone of your age with someone of Eugene's age, the first thing you think is "trophy wife," but you played Kate very reasonable and sympathetic. Were you trying to avoid those clichés?
The writing was on the page, too. Tyler didn't write a typical trophy wife character, he wrote a wife who was concerned about her husband, very supportive of him no matter what, and had good, deep family values. She wants to keep the family unit together. It's a blended family with the stepdaughter and their child together, and the mother-in-law. I think a lot of people can relate to that. So many people are divorced and getting remarried and having to blend families. I don't think of her as a trophy wife, she's a wife who fell in love with this man who's very charming and likable and she adores him. What I like about Tyler's movies and Madea is there's the comedy that comes out of situations, and there's also a lot of heart to the movie and a nice message. I loved the arc, the journey the family went on. At the end it's a nice reveal.

Also Check Out: Tyler Perry Recruits Eugene Levy for "Madea's Witness Protection" Trailer

Eugene is, of course, a master at improv. Was there a lot on set?
Yeah. In the beginning we didn't want to improv because we felt this is what Tyler wrote, and he's directing it and we wanted to be respectful of that, but a few days into shooting he was so gracious. He had no ego, and he wanted us to have fun with it. I like improvising when working on a movie or in television. I love to be able to add stuff, and it's great working with someone like Eugene who's fantastic and easy to work with.

You're in a movie with Madea, who's a force to be reckoned with. When Tyler directs dressed as Madea, does he stay in character?
No. Every day we would show up to set and we weren't sure if he would be Madea, Joe or Brian. We would have to see whoever wasn't doubled up, then it would be Madea or Joe coming; but I was always so fascinated watching him because he had all these characters. He'd be Madea then yell, "Cut!" and it was Tyler Perry's voice. It was hysterical watching him, 'cause you see him and he's so handsome, he doesn't look like a character actor. He's cut. To look like that and then have Madea fly out of his mouth or Joe talking about farting and everything. It's funny to me to watch him go back and forth.

Lionsgate

You shot this at his studio in Atlanta. What's it like to work under an auteur with that level of control?
You feel it as soon as you drive through Tyler Perry Studios. I have such admiration for how hard he's worked, starting from not having a lot and working so hard to have this incredible studio. He's young to be so accomplished with all these TV shows and movies and his own studio. I think it's just incredible.

As a mother, how much do you think Madea's stern ways are something to emulate?
I think she takes it to the extreme, but she has a good heart and you can tell family means a lot to her. She takes it a little overboard. [laughs] I do think there's a generation of passive parenting, too, but somewhere in between …

Between smacking 'em upside the head and letting the iPod raise them?
Yes, exactly. [laughs]

Of the three characters he plays, which one did you have the most fun playing off of?
Madea. Yeah, when it was his coverage playing her, we would do our scene, then we would do his coverage. He was able to go off for so long; all the things that come out of Madea's mouth [were] off the top of his head. Romeo and Eugene and I were doing a scene together, and Romeo said he had to pinch himself so he wouldn't laugh, but none of us wanted to laugh because he's so brilliant. He's an amazing comic genius -- we don't want to mess up his take with us laughing! But he's fun to watch. I loved working with him and watching the improv he would do.

We're coming to the 15th anniversary of "Starship Troopers" …
I don't even know. It came out around November …

Yep, November of '97. What is your most distinct memory of that?
I will never forget that experience. I had one of the best times ever working on that movie. All of us were unknowns and we were so excited and happy to be there and passionate about what we were doing. It was a six-month shoot and one of the fondest memories I've had working on that movie.

Universal

Seth MacFarlane has been poking fun at domestic life with "Family Guy" for over a decade, but for his first feature film, "Ted," he's taking on bachelorhood via a talking teddy bear.

John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is an average guy whose childhood stuffed animal Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) came to life and remains his best pal into adulthood, which doesn't sit too well with John's girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis). Plenty of drunken, foul-mouthed antics occur when Ted is forced to strike out on his own, with John feeling more than a twinge of separation anxiety.

1. This whole train of thought is pretty ridiculouski.

2. Ted doesn't have any genitalia, he just pays the girls to sew his buttons back on.

3. All that without even having to consult White Trashipedia.

4. Honey, that peach halter top called you a whore way before she did.

Getty Images

When undercover cops Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum return to high school to expose a drug ring in "21 Jump Street," it is Brie Larson (as a fetching high school student) who distracts Hill from the mission at hand. The 22-year-old actress also sang and acted as one of Scott Pilgrim's exes in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and played Toni Collette's rebellious daughter on three seasons of "United States of Tara."

We sat down with Larson in anticipation of the DVD and Blu-ray release of "21 Jump Street" and put the affable actress on the spot about whether Hill is funnier than Tatum, her favorite scene in the movie and her awkward encounter with Johnny Depp.

Your "21 Jump Street" character, Molly, has a budding romance with Schmidt, played by Jonah Hill. Did you two get to know each other before filming to build some kind of chemistry?
We had kind of known each other a little bit before. I ran into him at a table read for another movie and we started talking. We had both gone through breakups, and we laughed at the silly things you do to get past it that ultimately leads to not feeling any better. We sparked a friendship from there, and it made the whole audition process more fun. Instead of feeling like I had to go into a room and impress a bunch of suits, it felt like I was with friends. We got to go to New Orleans a week or two before we started filming and had some barbeques and hung out, so we got to know each other by running around the city.

Also Check Out: Is Brie Larson the New Emma Stone?

You're 22. Had you ever watched the original "21 Jump Street" with Johnny Depp?
I had seen it before. It came out the year I was born, but it's been playing on TV. We weren't trying to really emulate the show; we were trying to create our own thing. I didn't have to look at it as my Bible.

Did you meet Depp when he did his cameo in your movie?
The thing was, I didn't realize for the longest time that he was on set because he was in costume. I was on set thinking, Johnny Depp will be here any minute. There was this one old biker dude who kept talking to me, but I wasn't answering back because I didn't know who he was. I said, "I’m sorry, I didn't catch your name." He pulled his sunglasses down and said, "It's Johnny." I said, "Wow! Nice to meet you!" It was fantastic and a really fun day for everybody.

Columbia Pictures

Your prom in "21 Jump Street" concludes with a wild limo chase with you as a hostage. Was your real prom that exciting?
I didn't go to prom -- I was homeschooled. I didn't have that. I'm sure I did some wild things, but certainly not a limo chase or explosions. No drugs were taken, so it was not nearly as exciting.

Who is funnier off camera: Jonah Hill or Channing Tatum?
Oh, shoot. Highly controversial! That's really hard because both of them are pretty f***ing funny. I feel like Channing is the more surprising one that catches you off guard with his humor. Jonah is so quick and is always on it with one-liners. It's a toss-up!

What do you think happens to Molly and Schmidt after the end credits?
By the end of the movie, I want them to be together. I think it is fate, and there is an understanding between the two of them. I don't think they are going to get married, but maybe they date for a couple of months.

Also Check Out: GALLERY: Go Undercover at the "21 Jump Street" Premiere

Has there been any talk of a "21 Jump Street" sequel or Molly returning?
I do know there is a sequel, but I don't know anything about Molly being there or the setting of the film at all. It would be great. I would do it!

Did you record any fun extras for the DVD and Blu-ray?
They gave us cameras in New Orleans, so we did some silly skits and things between takes.

What was your favorite scene in the movie?
I really love Johnny Simmons' brief cameo at the beginning of the movie. He plays the kid who does the drug and dies and has the YouTube video. I thought it was so funny, it makes me cry. Also, I love when you see the melted ice cream-cone face. It was a totally different hallucination in the script, so when I saw it in the movie I was totally caught off guard.

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You were a bit of a wild child as Kate Gregson in "United States of Tara." In real life, do you think you were a rebellious teen?
I guess I was always an outsider and some kind of anarchist. I didn't have a regular school experience and wanted a more abstract way of learning. I started exploring in lots of different creative ways. It gave me the opportunity to travel and play music, so it was good for me.

Getty Images

We can now take "interview a nine-year-old about a movie" off our bucket list. Recently we sat down with the adorable and charismatic  Quvenzhané Wallis, who stars as little warrior Hushpuppy in the Sundance hit "Beasts of the Southern Wild." It's difficult to describe "Beasts" -- a film set in the mythical community of Bathtub off the coast of Louisana -- in a way that isn't confusing, but we can tell you it's one of the most magical movies you'll ever see in your lifetime.

We caught up with Wallis (who was accompanied by her mother) at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills to talk about the movie and some of her favorite things in life. 

Tell us about Hushpuppy.
Hushpuppy is a brave little girl who lives with her father in the Bathtub and tries to follow her father’s footsteps.

Talk about the process of how you got the part -- how you heard about the first audition, all the way to getting the part.
Whenever the audition came, my mom told me, "Let’s get into the car and let’s go to the library." So we went to the library and we did the audition, and they said they liked what they seen. And when they called back they said they liked what they seen and that they were looking for [my sister], and my mom said, “Oh, you must be looking for Quvenzhané,” and they were like, “No, no, no, no,” and they almost hung up. So my mom [said], “Oh, she must have told you Nazie is her nickname, but her real name is Quvenzhané."

So the movie revolves all around your character, which means you are carrying a lot of the weight. How nervous were you once you started shooting?
I wasn't as nervous, I was actually excited.

Also Check Out: Our 20 Favorite Films From Sundance 2012

What's your favorite scene in the movie?
Birds screaming and crawfish.

How about telling me about your favorite moment on set.
Whenever we did the crawfish. And the crabs and the shrimp.

Let’s talk about your experiences at the film festivals you’ve been to. This had its world premiere at Sundance -- talk about that experience.
Being at Sundance was the first time we got awards, and that was the first day I realized the movie was special.

A few weeks ago you were at the Cannes Film Festival, which is one of the most prestigious festivals in the world. What was it like seeing yourself on giant screen at the Palais?
It [felt] like a bigger me with a smaller voice with a smaller me with a bigger voice.

How many times have you answered that?
A thousand times. [laughs]

What else did you do at Cannes besides see your own movie?
I saw the beaches and things like that.

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This is your first movie, and it happens to be your breakout role. How cool does this feel?
It feels good to do a movie, but I will always feel the same.

What’s your favorite movie?
“Happy Feet 2.”

What’s your favorite animal?
A dog.

What kind of dog?
Chihuahua.

What kind of music do you listen to?
Hip-hop.

Disney/Pixar

There are very few things in this life you can count on, but one of them is that when the folks at Pixar make a movie, chances are they'll hit it right out of the damn park.

The CGI animation division of Disney has the best track record in the business and is known for retaining a story-centric level of quality control as intricate and precise as the Sistine Chapel -- but with more talking animals.

As Pixar's latest, "Brave," hits theaters, we decided to gird our loins and compile all the facts you'll ever need to know about the studio. Read on to learn the secret of Pixar's success, or at least to overload on the almost embarrassing amount of success it's had.

13 - Total number of feature-length movies.

13 - Number of feature voice appearances by "Cheers" mailman John Ratzenberger.

22 - Total number of short films.

9 - Feature films with a 95% or above critical score on Rotten Tomatoes.

26 - Number of Academy Award wins, including shorts.

Disney

20 - Number of prominent current/former stand-up comedians in major voice roles (Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Penn Jillette, Denis Leary, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, George Carlin, Patton Oswalt, Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett, Jeff Garlin, Kristen Schaal, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Izzard, Craig Ferguson).

5 - Pixar feature films directed by co-founder/chief creative officer John Lasseter.

$5 million - Amount Steve Jobs paid George Lucas for the Pixar offshoot unit of Lucasfilm in 1986.

$7.4 billion - Amount Disney paid to acquire Pixar in 2006. Mama mia! That's a spicy meat-a-ball!

3 - Number of Pixar films with a human being as the central character ("The Incredibles," "Up" and "Brave").

6 - Number of Pixar movies scored by Randy Newman, with 8 Oscar nominations including 2 wins for Best Original Song ("We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3" and "If I Didn't Have You" from "Monsters, Inc.")

4 trillion - Estimated number of collective audience tears shed during dead wife montage in "Up."

26 - Years in existence.

4 - Films overhauled by replacement directors after troubled starts ("Toy Story 2," "Toy Story 3," "Ratatouille," "Brave").

Disney

45 - Approximate number of minutes devoid of dialogue at the beginning of "WALL-E."

3 - Number of former "Simpsons" animators who have directed and/or written a Pixar movie, specifically David Silverman (co-director of "Monsters Inc."), Brad Bird (writer/director of "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille") and Jim Reardon (co-writer and storyboard supervisor on "WALL-E").

2.36 million - Approximate number of Google search results combining the phrase "A Bug's Life" and the word "communism." Just thought we'd point that out, not that we're suggesting anything. Nope. Nothing at all.

374 - Number of Hawaiian shirts John Lasseter keeps in active rotation for his wardrobe. Counting those in storage, altogether he claims to own "well over a thousand."

0 - Number of Pixar films that have NOT been a huge, sweeping success.

Originally published June 22, 2011.

Fox

It took Russian director Timur Bekmambetov to make a movie about America's most beloved historical figure fighting Transylvania's most dangerous monsters in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."

Adapted for the screen by the original novelist Seth Grahame-Smith, it reimagines The Great Emancipator as a great decapitator of bloodthirsty slaveowners through his prolific talent wielding an axe. It costars Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, with Rufus Sewell gleefully chewing up the scenery as the head vampire in charge.

1. This is also the same guy who taught George Washington to chop down that cherry tree.

2. Something tells us Edward Cullen of "Twilight" wouldn't stand a chance against our 16th president.

3. "People all over the world ... Join hands ... Start a death train, death train."

Disney/Pixar

In the UK, redheads or "gingers," once considered evil demonic spawn, are regularly insulted and abused. But we in America have a long-standing love affair with strawberry locks, so much so that many blondes and brunettes have dyed their hair to become famous fiery redheads, a la Lucille Ball, Nicole Kidman and Emma Stone.

In honor of Pixar's new "Brave" heroine Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), we've assembled our list of favorite cinematic gingers -- and by that we mean the characters were redheads, not necessarily the actors. Yes, they're all ladies, but we'd love it if more actors like Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender and Kevin McKidd let their ginger flags fly high. Rupert Grint can't be the only one to represent, guys.

9. Giselle in 'Enchanted' (Amy Adams)

Disney

A mashup of all the fairest of princesses, Giselle (like the actress who portrays her) is so adorable, it's impossible not to smile when she's twirling around Central Park encouraging guys not to take the ones they love for granted. As the great Bruce Springsteen puts it, "It takes a red headed woman to do get a dirty job done," and Giselle can make anything sparkly clean with her can-do spirit. That's what the Boss meant, right?

8. Rose in 'Titanic' (Kate Winslet)

Paramount

Is there a more romantic movie image than the sight of Rose standing in Jack's embrace "on top of the world," the ocean breeze fluttering through her auburn curls? We think not. High-born Rose may have worn her hair in a tightly controlled up-do at the beginning of the film, but by the time she's pledged herself to steerage's passionate Jack Dawson, her red hair blazes free and wild, just like their love.

7. Black Widow in 'The Avengers' (Scarlett Johansson)

Marvel/Disney

We adore women who can kick butt, and Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanoff) is precisely the sort of beauty you should never mess with -- ever. Look beyond the skin-tight uniform (we know it's hard) and spectacular display of fighting skills and see how vulnerable she is whenever Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is mentioned. Tasha may be a mysterious badass, but she's no ice queen. We can't wait for her crimson-haired heroics in "Avengers 2."

6. Vivian in 'Pretty Woman' (Julia Roberts)

Buena Vista

If this were a list of our nine favorite movie streetwalkers, Vivian would top it. Roberts rocked her iconic role as the hooker with the heart of gold who wanted the fairy tale, not just a rich john. Give in to the pull of Roy Orbison's classic theme song and picture Vivian's Rodeo Drive makeover, dazzling smile and infectious laugh, and it's obvious why Richard Gere gave her everything.

5. Leeloo in 'The Fifth Element' (Milla Jovovich)

Columbia Pictures

It would be easy to dismiss Leeloo as just a sexy alien wearing an intergalactic bikini, but she's actually an extraterrestrial heroine, people, not just Jovovich stuffed into four strips of cloth. There's a lot of exposed skin, but this is Jovovich at her best -- a femme fatale who knows what she has to do to save our skin. Cheers to the redheaded rescuer of humanity who can rock a teeny-tiny costume for two hours.

4. Ariel in 'The Little Mermaid' (Jodi Benson)

Disney

We could've gone with the more predictable (not to mention red-hot) Jessica Rabbit, but there's something magical about Ariel. The irresistibly sweet mermaid princess is desperate to be part of the world above, and she sacrifices her one talent -- her voice -- in exchange for legs just to meet with her crush, Prince Eric. Disney infused Ariel with unmatched beauty and a transcendent voice that, along with the Oscar-winning soundtrack, gave "The Little Mermaid" legs.

3. Little Orphan Annie in 'Annie' (Aileen Quinn)

Columbia Pictures

Leapin' lizards! Annie is the most delightful ginger of the bunch. The character's signature red curls were a comic-strip legend long before she ever hit the silver screen, but Quinn brought the cute and scrappy orphan to life in the cherished '80s movie musical. Annie's the ultimate underdog, and with her sheer optimism -- even in the face of a hard-knock life – she helps audiences young and old realize that no matter how gray and lonely things get, there's always "Tomorrow."

2. Olive in 'Easy A' (Emma Stone)

Screen Gems

If Molly Ringwald is the epitome of the angst-ridden middle-class girl wondering if she's worthy, Stone's Olive is the embodiment of what we wish we'd been like in high school: confident, whip-smart, daringly subversive and unapologetically close to her awesome family (we want Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as parents). Olive's "Scarlet Letter" experiment is at once a brilliant feminist statement and a comically misguided teen stunt, but through it all, Olive remains ridiculously lovable.

1. Molly Ringwald in Any '80s Movie

Universal

Ringwald will forever be known as the queen of '80s teen flicks. Her collaboration with writer-director John Hughes led to the Me Decade's most unforgettable suburban high-school movies, and she managed to make us believe that a swoon-worthy guy could fall for someone other than the busty blonde cheerleader. Ultimate props go to her fashion-forward misfit Andie in "Pretty in Pink" and her adorably insecure sister-of-the-bride Samantha in "Sixteen Candles."

Bonus Male Ginger: Ron Weasley in the 'Harry Potter' Movies (Rupert Grint)

Warner Bros.

We've already bemoaned the fact that there aren't enough redheaded guys in showbiz (and no, we aren't going to count Carrot Top, Chucky or the Lucky Charms leprechaun), but we can pay tribute to the ultimate male ginger: Ron Weasley in the seven "Harry Potter" films. He may not be the hero of the story, but Ron is more than just comic-relief sidekick: He saves Harry, faces his biggest fears, destroys a horcrux AND gets to finally snog the witch of his dreams.

Disney/Pixar

It's clear at this point that Pixar's track record is the best in the business, so why fight the fact that you want to see "Brave" so bad?

Yeah, it's about a princess, but did we mention that Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) of the Scottish kingdom of DunBroch is an arrow-shooting, bear-battling badass of the highest caliber? She ain't bad lookin' neither, especially if you dig redheads. Let this latest animated masterpiece cast a spell on you with these four clips.

1. King Fergus (Billy Connolly) tries to comfort his queen (Emma Thompson) in the most boorish way possible.

2. We can safely say, without fear of rebuttal ... BULL'S-EYE!

3. Princess Merida displays a little more panache in her storytelling skills.

4. Some of these Scottish accents are thicker than a heaping plate of haggis.

NextMovie

Biopics about U.S. presidents usually depict Commanders in Chief as stately, diplomatic heads of state whose biggest fights are with Congress or rascally foreign countries.

The new movie "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," however, gives us an Abraham Lincoln we've never read about in history books. Freeing the slaves was a pretty kickass thing to do in real life, but in Timur Bekmambetov's adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's novel, our 16th president speaks softly, carries a big ax, and chops up vampires 'til they're deader than undead.

All those other presidents must be kind of jealous of Honest Abe right about now, don't you think? So with the help of Old Red Jalopy, we're casting even more of our nation's leaders as action hero-types, striking down more than just bad legislation. You're welcome, POTUSes.

More NextMovie Originals

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Columbia Pictures

Over the past two decades Adam Sandler has built up a devoted following of 13-year-old males who worship him as a funny-voiced god, but now the "Happy Madison" comedian is going blue with "That's My Boy," an R-rated comedy of raunchtastic proportions.

Sandler plays Donny Berger, an exceedingly immature man who needs $43,000 dollars to pay off the IRS or he'll wind up in the slammer. Enter his son Todd (Andy Samberg), whom he fathered as a young teen, as the two of them begin an extremely overdue -- and ridiculous --  period of bonding.

1. Best. Dad. Ever.

2. Andy Samberg expresses his complex feelings through the majesty of song.

3. Young Donny won't be able to put these extracurricular activities on his college application.

4. Todd was a distinguished early member of the designated driver program.

5. The drunken Sandler montage. Enjoy.

6. Samberg is Hangin' Tough with his pop.

Paramount

With "Rock of Ages" thundering through theaters on Friday, the retro spotlight will once again shine on the crazy '80s, the decade of decadence when rock stars were true rock stars and unapologetic about being so.

In anticipation of the nostalgia this will inspire, we're looking at nine hard-rock and heavy-metal films that have made noise in the mainstream. Horns up!

9. 'Detroit Rock City' (1999)

New Line

While a majority of teen flicks tend to focus on love, partying and sex, 'Detroit Rock City' has a singular directive -- getting four teenage KISS fanatics to a concert after one of their mothers burns their tickets and banishes her son to Catholic school. Naturally that's not going to stop them, and once reunited, the four garage bandmates (including Edward Furlong) go on a wild road trip that involves drugs, fights, a botched mugging and robbery, a strip club contest and other ridiculous situations. Despite flopping at the box office, 'Detroit Rock City' has developed a cult following over the years.

8. 'Detroit Metal City' (2008)

Panasia Films

Timid college grad Soichi Negishi loves playing sappy bubblegum pop. But he earns his livelihood anonymously behind the sinister visage of the evil Dr. Krauser in the misogynist Satanic metal band DMC (Detroit Metal City), which espouses rape and murder. His pop passion excites his journalist crush, but she abhors the twisted music that has made him famous. This clever Japanese comedy balances the sticky-sweet with the brutally loud as Soichi lives a dual life, not made easy by his gleefully violent band manager. Which side will win out? The resolution is surprising and cleverly riffs on how many rock stars are unlike their alter egos.

7. 'The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years' (1988)

New Line

Penelope Spheeris dove headlong into the hard rockin' Sunset Strip scene of late '80s L.A. She sensationalizes the hedonism -- Paul Stanley lounges in bed with numerous groupies, W.A.S.P.'s Chris Holmes floats drunkenly in his pool -- but things were insanely funny, hedonistic and stupid back then. The focus on hair bands discounts the more intelligent metal being made (although Lemmy, Alice Cooper and Dave Mustaine represent), but there are some ugly truths to be found here about the scene's nihilism and misogyny.

6. 'Rock Star' (2001)

Warner Bros.

Loosely inspired by the real-life story of tribute singer-turned-Judas Priest frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens, this tale of a cover band singer (Mark Wahlberg) who gets to sing for his heroes Steel Dragon gets some real-life details right -- you're now part of the club but will never run it -- while indulging in cliche excess. Real-life musicians Jeff Pilson, Jason Bonham and Zakk Wylde lend credibility, while the original songs are pretty catchy. This '80s period piece is a guilty pleasure, even though it's a stupid film cynically declaring that all rock stars are disposable. That may be true now, but it wasn't back then.

5. 'Conan the Barbarian' (1982)

Universal

This isn't a music movie, but few veteran metalheads haven't enjoyed watching Arnold Schwarzenegger seek violent retribution against the evil cult leader who murdered his parents and smashed his childhood innocence. And let's face it -- this sword 'n' sorcery epic has undoubtedly influenced numerous Viking metal bands, while Schwarzenegger's movies have served as fodder for Austrian Death Machine, the heavy side project of As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis. "Conan" is truly metal, an angry revenge pic with a sword-wielding barbarian unapologetically slashing and screwing his way to his goal.

4. The 'Bill & Ted' Movies (1989 and 1991)

Orion Pictures

Whether collecting famous historical figures for a high school history project through time travel ("Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure") or seeking to escape hell and stop their evil robot doubles from withholding their music from the masses ('Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'), the Wyld Stallyns bandmates always manage to be oblivious to the utter craziness around them. They just have fun learning to play as well as Eddie Van Halen, seeing real iron maidens and defeating Death at Twister and Battleship. And excellent news: a third 'Bill & Ted' installment is being planned. Party on, dudes!

3. 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' (2008)

Abramorama

There have been many great metal documentaries released over the last few years -- Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster," Iron Maiden's "Flight 666" and "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" among them -- but Anvil's story really represents metal's eternal underdog status. Canadian brothers-in-arms Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner had toiled in obscurity for nearly three decades when their old roadie-turned-screenwriter Sacha Gervasi followed them on a faltering European tour. Revealing an intense friendship that has survived more lows than highs, the film transformed Anvil into folk heroes, securing their legend. Soon after, the band opened for AC/DC.

2. 'Wayne's World' (1992)

Paramount

Perhaps the only cool "SNL" film (with a sequel), this comedy cleverly features two suburban Illinois dudes (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) with a public access cable show dreaming of greater TV and music glory (party on!). But potentially bigger success and Wayne's blossoming romance (schwing!) with Crucial Taunt frontwoman Cassandra (Tia Carrere) starts crimping the style of their bromance. Their shenanigans are often hilarious -- the guys and their friends rocking out to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" in their car is classic -- and the cameo by Alice Cooper, who offers them a quick, scholarly history lesson on their community, is priceless (they're not worthy!).

1. 'This Is Spinal Tap' (1984)

Embassy Pictures

When it first came out, numerous bands thought this mockumentary was about them. Ozzy Osbourne thought it was a real documentary. The film has also created so many legendary moments -- turning amps to 11, penning a piano ballad called "Lick My Love Pump," opening for a puppet show -- that no other movie will ever come closer to accurately satirizing the craziness of the music business and metal. Core members David St. Hubbins (aka Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) took the joke further by playing a secret club tour in 1984 and full-on amphitheater tours in 1992, 2001 and 2009.

NBC

For over two decades, appearing on "Law & Order" -- or one of its nearly nine thousand spinoffs -- has been a rite of passage for actors looking to make it big in television, film and theater. If you haven't ended up dead in a back alley, on the stand in front of a righteous public defender or being grilled by a tough cop while ominous chimes chung-chung in the background, well, you're probably a nobody.

But you know who is a somebody? Leighton Meester, who appeared on "Law & Order" way back in the '90s when she was just 13 years old.

These days, of course, Meester is about to appear opposite Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg in the new comedy "That's My Boy," which hits theaters on June 15. And over the past few years she's turned her starring role on the hit CW drama "Gossip Girl" into a launching pad for a Hollywood career that includes big-screen efforts like "The Roommate" and "Date Night."

Also Check Out: "Gossip Girl" Stars on the Big Screen: Who Does It Best?

But back in 1999, Meester was still just an unknown kid when she appeared on "Law & Order," playing a student who just might have important information about the death of one of her school chums. It's not a particularly major or glamorous role, but for a kid looking to get a break in the business, it's a certifiable big deal.

Here's a look at the young Meester going toe to toe with the late, great Jerry Orbach. Nobody puts Queen Bee in a corner!

Weinstein Company

Quentin Tarantino making a Western sounds like the coolest coupling of director and genre since Scorsese noodled with the mafia, and judging from the rootin' tootin' trailer for "Django Unchained," it just might live up to our cinema-junkie expectations.

For his smash hit "Inglourious Basterds," Tarantino gave Jews their ultimate revenge fantasy by allowing Eli Roth to smoke Hitler, and we loved every minute of it. Now imagine him applying that same gonzo, pop culture-laden sensibility to a freed African-American slave riding dusty trails, scouting filthy saloons, or going up against heaps o' redneck crackers with itchy trigger fingers. Now you get the picture.

Here's all you should possibly know to get in the saddle with the "Pulp Fiction" maestro for his trip to the wild, wild ... South?

Release Date

December 25

Most Wanted List

For the title slave-turned-gunslinger, Jamie Foxx beat out the formidable likes of Will Smith, Idris Elba and "Boardwalk Empire" star Michael K. Williams, all of whom QT considered before tapping the "Ray" Academy Award winner. He'll share the screen with a veteran of the Tarantinoverse, Austrian thesp Christoph Waltz, whose masterful role as SS Col. Hans Landa in "Inglourious Basterds" led to Oscar glory and a place in the director's heart. In "Django," Waltz's erudite German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, who frees Django and makes him his partner, is a part that couldn't be written for anyone else. (Yes, his name is "Dr. King"… Tarantino is not being subtle with the civil rights subtext.) There's also a whole stable of bad guys, led by Leonardo DiCaprio having the time of his life sleazing it up as Calvin Candie, a Francophile plantation owner who has Django's wife. Samuel L. Jackson plays his not-so-humble servant Stephen, sporting some awesome muttonchops and a bad attitude. Also, as a cherry on top, The RZA.

Also Check Out: Revenge Is Served Hot in "Django Unchained" Trailer

Who Gets The Travolta Treatment?

Typically, Tarantino has a habit of resuscitating dormant careers, a la John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction," Robert Forster in "Jackie Brown," or David Carradine in "Kill Bill"; but his "Django" barn is so chock-a-block with big names it just might burst. For a breakout role, though, we'd have to go with Kerry Washington as Django's missing wife and fellow slave Broomhilda, or "Hildy." Although her profile is fairly high, especially after her star turn in the ABC series "Scandal," this could be the movie that cements Washington as one of the hottest women on the planet.

You'll still spot some faces you might not have seen on the big screen in a while, including Don Johnson, Anthony LaPaglia, James Remar and the great Franco Nero, who played another famous spaghetti Western hero for Sergio Corbucci's "Django." This film has nothing to do with that one, although that 1966 flick does feature an awesome Gatling gun-in-a-coffin scene.

Wastin' Away Again in Tarantinoville

Weinstein Company

Anyone who's a fan of Tarantino and his pastiche style knows his penchant for spaghetti Westerns, particularly his favorite movie of all time, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," so the only thing shocking about the 49-year-old helmer saddling up for his "Southern" is that it took him this long to do it. Damn Gen-X slacker! Even when he told Charlie Rose a few years back that he wanted to make a biopic on slavery abolitionist John Brown, he emphasized that it would still have his usual Tarantinoisms. "I wouldn't go the dreary, solemn, historical route," he said. "I just don't like that musty thing." With the help of his frequent director of photography Robert Richardson, it should make for a brutal, bloody good time.

Movie Math

Sergio Leone + "Roots" × "Kill Bill" = "Django Unchained"

Backstory

Though this might be Tarantino's dream film, it sounds like it's been a nightmare to make. In October Christoph Waltz dislocated his pelvic bone while horseback riding in training for the film, but luckily recuperated quick enough. While the cast was initially packed like an overstuffed burrito with stars, many of the supporting players have been dropping like flies, with Kurt Russell taking over for Kevin Costner as an evil slaver, then himself dropping out. A similar occurrence happened when Sacha Baron Cohen took on Scotty, a memorable one-scene cameo written for Jonah Hill, then also fell by the wayside. Joseph Gordon-Levitt had to bail at the last minute owing to his own directorial duties. Despite these setbacks, the shooting (and we mean shooting) in New Orleans has been going well enough, with Tarantino even getting into character by directing in an authentic Western hat and outfit. He'd make a fine barkeep.

Also Check Out: Sacha Baron Cohen Gets Unchained from "Django"

We Have a Warrant For a Plot Synopsis

Though the script is a complex machine replete with enough "spaghetti Western flashback" moments to make Clint Eastwood wince (more than usual), the throughline is pretty simple. Django is a slave separated from his beloved slave wife Hildy; but because he knows the identity of the evil Brittle Brothers, Dr. Schultz takes him on as his sidekick, teaching him to ride, shoot, and role-play like a pro in order to hunt these bastards down and collect that bounty money. After years of faithful service and a lot of dead Brittle Brothers, Schultz lives up to his promise and takes Django to the Candieland plantation to get Hildy back. Even after what must have been at least two or three dozen killings, this is the point at which the movie starts to get violent. Expect the mother of all showdowns, and lots of justifiably dead peckerwoods.

Straight Shootin' Buzz

Our Internet kinfolk have kindly let slip about some of the roughly seven minutes of "Django Unchained" that screened at Cannes, which many folk reckoned was the best durn thang they laid eyes on at that there festival. Indiewire ran down several prominent tweets from the Weinstein Company event, while Alex Billington of First Showing and Raffi Asdourian of The Film Stage were pretty stoked about the "seven magical minutes" that covered a wide swath of the film, including Jamie's training scenes set to James Brown's "Payback."

Why We're Thinking the "D" Stands for "Dyn-o-mite!"

As if the name "Quentin Tarantino" alone didn't already hurl us into a theater seat, this has all the earmarks of being a centerpiece in an already charmed filmography. In both "Kill Bill" and "Basterds," QT made endless references to Sergio Leone's Westerns, be it through mammoth close-ups or dropping the needle on some Ennio Morricone tracks. Now he finally has a chance to pay the ultimate tribute to the "Once Upon a Time in the West" director and unleash his full Western arsenal in the most lavish production of his career. We'd hitch our wagon to this movie any time.

Warner Bros.

Adam Shankman's new film based on the Broadway musical "Rock of Ages" just might make you think you could get on the stage, belt out some tunes and melt some faces, but a word of caution: These are professionals.

This story of glam-metal glory follows two L.A. dreamers, Bourbon Club waitress Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) and busboy Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), as they sing and strut their way to the top ... '80s style. The crooning all-star cast includes Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti and Tom Cruise, unleashing his inner Axl Rose as the mercurial rock beast Stacee Jaxx.

1. Ahh, man. We were just one bad decision away from this movie becoming "Coyote Ugly."

2. If only Paul Giamatti could transplant some of his mustache hair onto that bald noggin.

3. Claims of Tom Cruise going totally off the reservation have been greatly exaggerated.

4. Catherine Zeta-Jones' hip thrusts are most definitely a deadly weapon.

5. Wait, we're confused ... what do you want to do again? Oh, "rock," got it.

6. The only thing less believable than Diego Boneta breaking into song is that people actually used to buy records. In stores.

Getty Images

If you thought Carrie White flipped out at her prom in "Carrie," wait until you see the lengths Lola "Princess" Stone -- played by Robin McLeavy -- goes to in "The Loved Ones" to land her dream date. The critically acclaimed 2009 Australian horror film directed by Sean Byrne has been described as a combination of "Pretty in Pink" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" for its depiction of lonely Princess kidnapping and torturing (with the help of her dad) the guy she is crushing on. "The Loved Ones" is currently playing in select cities.

Aussie actress McLeavy, who turns 31 this month, comes from a theater background and jumped at the chance to play a girl who is a tad mental. McLeavy chatted us up about getting into her character's headspace and who she will be playing in this summer's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."

Your character in "The Loved Ones" is singularly obsessed with taking one lucky guy to a school dance. How did you get into the headspace of a somewhat nutty character?
Well, the fact that she had a few screws loose is what drew me to her character. When I read the script, I loved that it was a female protagonist in a horror film -- because you don’t see that too often -- and she was the perpetrator of the violence. She's kind of this lonely, sad little girl who was just trying to get a date and it all goes horribly wrong. She's got to get her kicks somehow, so luckily she has a dad that helps facilitate that.

In real life, did you enjoy a more traditional and less bloody prom experience?
I didn't actually have a prom. In Australia we call them "socials," which is hilarious. I did always find them pretty awkward, because I went to an all-girls school. The prom is not as much of a big deal as it is in the States, but after watching "Carrie" and all of those prom movies, it's a pretty defining moment in terms of a girl's self-esteem. From that point of view, it was pretty interesting.

Also Check Out: "The Loved Ones" Trailer: Worst. Prom. Ever.

What was your first acting gig?
I have a background in theater. At the time I read "The Loved Ones" script, I was playing Catherine the Great of Russia onstage. Straight after that I played Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Isabella in "Measure for Measure."

What appealed to me about "The Loved Ones" script was that it had this really theatrical element to it. I thought that the scope of this character is so broad, and there is so much fun to be had playing a crazy teenage loner. It was a great way to explore the delusions a mind can create. When a person has a mental episode, it's exhilarating and everything becomes vivid and more sensual. I ran with that to counteract the darker elements, like loneliness, a lack of intimacy and a dysfunctional family.

What is your dream role?
I love period dramas and language, but I love comedy as well. I used to do a lot of it as a kid and a teenager on my own time with my friends -- putting on silly voices and such. Comedy is definitely something I want to get back into.

Also Check Out: Q&A: "The Loved Ones" Star Xavier Samuel

What is your favorite movie of all time and why?
It's hard to boil [it] down to one movie. I love "The Graduate" and always go back to that. More recently, "A Woman Under the Influence" blew my mind in a thousand different ways. Gena Rowlands is great, and I loved the way [director] John Cassavetes facilitated improvisation.

Tell us about your upcoming role in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."
I flew over to America and tested for the role of Mary Todd Lincoln, but I ended up playing the role of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, which was great because it let me play a good-hearted character in the horror genre. She is fostering the future president of the United States, which was a pretty cool idea. Timur [Bekmambetov] is such an amazing director, and his mind is in overdrive all of the time. Marton Csokas, who is also in the movie, did "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" with me onstage in Australia, so we had a couple of defining scenes together in "Abraham Lincoln." Those were the coolest and goriest bits for my role.

Also Check Out: Everything We Know About "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" So Far

Mac or PC?
Mac.

New York or L.A.?
New York.

View Gallery »

Rock or rap?
Rap.

Beer or wine?
Wine.

Twitter or Facebook?
Facebook.

Justin Bieber or Justin Timberlake?
Timberlake.

Vampires, zombies or werewolves?
I guess vampires? [laughs]

Lady Gaga or Madonna?
I'm going to go with Lady Gaga.

Apples or oranges?
Mangos!

UFC or WWE?
UFC is cage-fighting, so I'll go with that. When I was in "Streetcar" with Joel Edgerton, he had just come off "Warrior" and he was obsessed with cage-fighting, so he and I watched a few brutal matches together. I’m a huge martial arts fan.

Fox Searchlight

Remember when you were 10, and you thought by 22 you'd be married, with a big house (that has a white picket fence) and two perfect children? Maybe a dog and a cat to complete the family? But when you hit 30, you may start to realize that all those dreams won't necessarily come true. Welcome to the suck, sucker.

"Lola Versus" is the story of a girl who didn't get everything she wanted, at the time she wanted it -- and how she deals with that. Greta Gerwig is Lola, who's fixing to marry the man of her dreams, Luke (played by future RoboCop and current Detective Stephen Holder on AMC's "The Killing," Joel Kinnaman). Things are going well for Lola. She's about to finish school, the wedding planning is coming along nicely ... and then kerplunk, Luke calls off the engagement just three weeks before the wedding.

Also Check Out: 5 Questions With "Lola Versus" Star and Writer Zoe Lister-Jones

Like anyone who's just had their childhood dreams shattered, Lola reluctantly embarks on a journey of self-discovery through a series of unfortunate events. It's Lola versus the world.

Fox Searchlight

Instead of filling the movie with romantic cliches that almost never work in the real world (Carrie Bradshaw would never take Mr. Big back after what he put her through, amirite?), we get an honest and hilariously awkward story about being an adult while at the same time learning to be an adult. It's coming-of-age story about a woman who's too old to be coming of age. And in a strange and charming way, it all works.

"Lola Versus" stars the new queen of independent cinema, Greta Gerwig. The '90s had Parker Posey; we have Gerwig, who's appeared in "LOL," "Nights and Weekends" and "Greenberg" (for which she earned an Indie Spirit Award nomination). In her films, we get to watch her characters go through all the relationship woes and life oopsies that all of us can relate to in one way or another and think, "Thank God I am not alone."

Lola has a lot of love to give, but she just doesn't know where to put it. Gerwig knows how to play this damsel in distress, making awkward look endearing. But when it's time for Lola to pull out those identifiable moments of loneliness, Gerwig bangs you over the head like a bag of hammers. (As a bonus, Bill Pullman plays Lola's free-living father and, as always, rules.)

Also Check Out: Interview with "Lola Versus" Star Greta Gerwig

"Lola Versus" marks the second writing collaboration between real-life couple Zoe Lister-Jones (who almost steals the movie as Lola's potty-mouthed best friend, Alice) and Daryl Wein (who directed the film). There's no doubt this film is a thank you card to the hell that these two once put each other through. Hopeless romantics will recognize many of the things we've experienced during an unwanted breakup: the power-eating, the sex with strangers and friends, and yes, the not showering or underwear-changing for days.

These are real people in real situations using real dialogue. "Lola Versus" is what happens when you shake life up a little bit and let it fall out of your hands.

Follow Chase Whale on Twitter.

Fox

Ridley Scott defined sci-fi terror with 1979's "Alien," so it's only fitting that the director would redefine the genre with "Prometheus," a prequel that takes many detours into rabbit holes of philosophical pondering.

What are they pondering, exactly? Only the nature and purpose of mankind's origin, that's all. No biggie. Oh, and there's monsters! This epic stars Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba and the amazing Michael Fassbender as a robot to be reckoned with.

1. Vickers apparently has an uptight person crammed up her behind.

2. "Paging Easter Island. You have left your giant head in the lobby."

3. Michael Fassbender gets into a philosophical debate over whether blondes have more fun.

4. Captain Janek's plans to get back to Hooters by 10 p.m. are dashed.

AFP/Getty Images

Wes Anderson's latest movie, "Moonrise Kingdom," stars Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as two pen pals who run away together from their New England town in 1965. A local search party led by the sheriff (Bruce Willis) and the girl's parents (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) fans out to find the young couple in this quirky slice-of-life drama that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and has received almost universal praise.

Little is known about 13-year-old Gilman except that he was born and raised in New Jersey and was 12 when he filmed the part of Sam Shakusky in "Moonrise Kingdom." When we sat down with this up-and-coming actor, we discovered a young man with a maturity beyond his years and a genuine respect for the moviemaking process. Read on to find out how he got to know his "Moonrise Kingdom" leading lady and how Bill Murray helped him overcome his fear of ties.

Did you and Kara Hayward have a chance to hang out and get to know each other before you played two children who skip town in "Moonrise Kingdom"?
Before filming, we would go to Rhode Island and do rehearsals. In those times, we would hang out and talk to each other. The first half of the first month was dedicated to the scenes in the woods that are just Kara and I, so we hung out then. Before filming, Wes had us write letters to each other like the "Dear Sam" and "Dear Suzy" ones in the movie except we completed them. We e-mailed them at first, but Wes realized it would be better to do them snail mail to get into our characters and that 1960s vibe.

Did you know much about director Wes Anderson or had you seen his films before shooting "Moonrise Kingdom"?
I had seen "Fantastic Mr. Fox," but now I have seen all of them.

Focus Features

Was "Moonrise Kingdom" your first professional acting gig?
Yes, "Moonrise Kingdom" was my first gig. I had a manager and I was going out on auditions, and in September 2010 I went in for my first audition. Then, six months later in March 2011 after three callbacks, my mom was picking me up from school -- which she never does -- and my dad told me over Bluetooth that I got the part.

What is something that happened on the set that you will never forget?
Bill Murray taught me how to tie a tie. That's going to stay with me forever. I was in costume fitting, and I didn't know how to tie a tie. The first time I ever saw a tie at home, I screamed "No tie! No tie!" and ran around the house. No women in the fitting room knew how to tie a tie either, but Bill happened to be in the room next to us. He said, "Jared, come on over. I'll teach you."

Did any of the '60s music Wes used in "Moonrise Kingdom" end up on your iPod? What music are you listening to?
I liked the Françoise Hardy song ["Le Temps de l'Amour"]. That was a really catchy one. It's all very nice and relaxing. Otherwise, I like rock, indie rock, electro and dubstep. So you'll find a lot of the Black Keys, White Stripes and Skrillex on my iPod.

Also Check Out: The Ultimate Wes Anderson Playlist

What's up next for you?
I'm still auditioning, but hopefully the next movie will be just as good as "Moonrise Kingdom."

What is your dream role?
I like a lot of action movies and comedies. But I like anything with good stories and strong characters.

Mac or PC?
Mac.

Focus Features

New York or Los Angeles?
New York.

"Harry Potter," "Twilight" or "The Hunger Games"?
"Harry Potter."

Rock or rap?
Rock.

Twitter or Facebook?
Eww. I don't really use a lot of social networks.

Justin Bieber or Justin Timberlake?
[pause] Timberlake, I guess?

Vampires, zombies or werewolves?
Zombies.

Lady Gaga or Madonna?
Madonna.

Apples or oranges?
Apples.

UFC or WWE?
UFC, I guess.

Do you have a favorite movie of all time?
I don't know if I have a favorite. I've seen a lot of movies that were so different in some way. A movie that I saw recently that I would put in my top 10 would have to be Sam Rockwell in "Moon." Sam Rockwell is great in that movie -- he was the only actor in the movie, really. A lot of the special effects were really convincing, considering the budget that it had.

If you didn't grow up to be a full-time actor, what do you see yourself doing?
There was a time when I was little when I really wanted to be a golfer.

Getty Images

In "Lola Versus," Zoe Lister-Jones plays Lola's friend Alice, a sharp-tongued single woman who's there to support her BFF when she's dumped by her fiancé and has to navigate the hellish NYC dating scene. Greta Gerwig stars as Lola, "Robocop"-to-be Joel Kinnaman appears as her former fiancé Luke, and Hamish Linklater plays their mutual friend Henry.

In real life, Lister-Jones is coupled up with Daryl Wein, who directed the film and cowrote the screenplay with her. The two previously collaborated on "Breaking Upwards," an indie about when they tried opening up their relationship to other people. Lister-Jones also appears in NBC's "Whitney," and she had a lot to say about women in the movies and on TV. "Lola Versus" opens in limited release on June 8. Watch the trailer.

"Breaking Upwards" was very personal. How much of you is in "Lola Versus"?
I think the seed of the idea came from my experiences when Daryl and I were in our open relationship. When we were talking about it in the aftermath, we realized how different it was for me as a single woman to be on the dating scene than it was for him as a single man. I was talking to my mom about it and I referred to it as my year of traumatizing sexual escapades, and she was like, "Oh, that's a great title for a movie," which obviously didn't make the cut.

So that's sort of where it started germinating. I think Daryl and I felt like we were craving a relationship film with a female protagonist who could be unapologetic and sometimes alienating and not always winning and the shiny object that so often carries a romantic comedy, and that we wanted to see an authentic portrait of what it was to be single in New York City without the glamorized gloss that a lot of those movies put on it.

Did you know that you didn't want to cast yourself as the lead immediately?
When we first wrote it, we thought it was going to be a tiny "Breaking Upwards"-type micro-budget movie, and so in that scenario, we were thinking about me playing Lola and then a friend of mine playing Alice. But then the script got a really overwhelming response, and we got a lot of interest from talent, and that was really exciting. We were just thrilled to cast Greta as Lola because we come from the same world and I think she's a really interesting leading lady. She's very unconventional. Even though she's beautiful and charming and funny, I think there's sort of an air of mystery to her, and her rhythms are really unique, and so it just felt like a perfect fit.

What have you picked up on the set of "Whitney," especially from Whitney Cummings? Being a woman in the industry, getting a lot of crap for doing your thing…?
Whitney is such an inspiring example of a powerful woman in the industry, because I think she's that rare combination of beautiful sex goddess and razor-sharp intellect and wit, and also ambition. I think that [she]'s a really amazing role model, sort of a new archetype for people to be able to aspire to. And she is unapologetic and I think that that is what has made her such an outstanding icon at this moment, because she is very true to her own voice.

I had shot other television pilots before ["Whitney"], and when you read the script as an actor to audition for it, it's like this amazing, interesting, edgy piece of material. Then by the time you shoot it, it's been so watered down because there are so many cooks in the kitchen and you're trying to appease so many people, and a lot of the decisions, I think, creatively that are made are fear-based.

Working on the pilot of "Whitney," I was so impressed because the script really didn't change at all, and that's a testament to how steadfast she is about the authenticity of her voice and not backing away from it. I think that that appeals to people, obviously, because the show is successful, and so that that was really a good learning experience for me, because it's hard when you're not a total commodity for people to really protect your vision.

What do you think of the state of female-targeted or written TV? I saw on your Twitter that you're a fan of "Girls," and of course that's getting an equal amount of … stuff.
I think "Girls" is pretty brilliant. I know Lena [Dunham] socially. When we went to South by Southwest with "Breaking Upwards," she ran up to us at the airport -- she was still at Oberlin -- and she was like, "I'm so excited to see your movie, oh my God!" and I was like, who is this cool [girl]? She was covered in tattoos, but she wasn't a snarky hipster, she was really excitable and open. She was there with her first film called "Creative Nonfiction," and so it's been really exciting to come up sort of together, and now she's skyrocketed.

When we wrote "Lola Versus," it was pre-"Bridesmaids" and pre-"Girls" and pre-"Whitney" and pre-"New Girl" [laughs], and it's exciting to be a part of this moment because clearly there was a sort of collective desire to see funny women at the forefront and funny women who could be crass and honest and talk about sex and sexuality in a way that felt authentic. So yeah, it definitely feels like there's a sort of zeitgeist-y thing happening.

Are any of your dates going to recognize themselves onscreen?
No, I don't think any dates will recognize themselves. I mean, there might be bits and pieces of [laughs] of different people here and there, but I don't think anything so overwhelming that -- listen, probably most of the people I dated are such narcissists they will see themselves in it because they'll probably see themselves in anything. [laughs]

Columbia Pictures

Unlike most of the exalted contributors here at Next Movie, I am not a professional film critic. I am, like you readers, but a humble servant of "The Twilight Saga."

That said, my opinion of "Bel Ami" should only hold water with fellow Twi-hards. Don't get angry with me for missing the dramatic undertones of French society in the 1880s. Even if I knew what to look for on that accord, I wasn't looking for it. I was only watching "Bel Ami" to see if Robert Pattinson accomplished what he set out to do with the role, which is to break away from the Edward Cullen typecasting.

R.Pattz didn't state that on record, but it's obvious, right? Because the movie is not great, but his character, Georges Duroy, is a far cry from any Pattinson has played before. Sure, he's still a total heartthrob (bedding half the women in upper-class French society) who relies on very long dramatic stares to depict a variety of emotions (as does Edward), but the rest is unique to "Bel Ami." To prove it, I've selected seven things that Robert Pattinson does in this film that we've never seen him do before.

Columbia Pictures

1. Wear a Top Hat

Top hats were apparently all the rage in 1885 France, and not just for formal events. According to this film, they were considered great "walking-around" hats. Whether you were walking to buy flowers for your wife, or off to your journalism job you didn't deserve, or headed to see one of your mistresses for a daylight love tryst -- a top hat was called for.

2. Be Completely Detestable

Despite being one of the most notorious vampires in cinema history, Pattinson has never really played the bad guy. While he's the "protagonist" in "Bel Ami," he's also a total dickhead. R.Pattz himself describes Duroy as being "completely amoral," which is a more eloquent way to say "total dickhead," but I prefer my description.

3. Do It Doggy-Style With a Prostitute

I saw this with NextMovie's Executive Editor, and he suggested "doggy-style" as one of the things we've never seen Pattinson do before. However, I've never seen the film "Little Ashes," in which Pattinson plays a young, bi-curious Salvador Dali and takes a male lover. Since I can't confirm at this moment whether you see him going "doggy-style" in that film, I added the "prostitute" part.

Columbia Pictures

4. Sleep His Way Through Paris

I feel like we've only seen Pattinson take one lover per film before this one. I could be wrong about that, and feel free to flay me in the comments sections if I am, but we definitely haven't seen him sleep with four different women in one film, right?

5. Lose a Drunken Bar Fight

Like I said, I've never seen "Little Ashes" and I've blocked out much of "Water For Elephants," but I don't remember seeing Pattinson badly lose a fight, especially one in which he's really hammered and deserves to lose.

6. Get Hate-F**ked by Uma Thurman

Let me warn you, it will be disconcerting for those of you on Team Edward to see your hero getting dirty with women who aren't K.Stew. But the most disturbing by far is his love scene with Uma Thurman. At that point, her character is his newly wedded wife. She wants to work, but all Duroy wants is to get nekkid. To appease him, she climbs on and seems to hurt him more than pleasure him, making him her bitch.

7. Star in a Movie That Shares a Title with a Gay Porn Company

While I know there are adult films based on "Twilight" and probably "Water for Elephants" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," this has to be the first film that Pattinson has been in that shares a name with a notable gay porno company.

Confessions of a (Male) Twi-Hard is a "Twilight" humor column by Ryan McKee that publishes every other week on NextMovie. Read Ryan’s introductory post here or follow him on Twitter.

FilmDistrict

"Wanted: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before."

So read a personal ad found in the back of a newspaper by then-aspiring screenwriter Derek Connolly, who was looking for inspiration to pen a new work. Using the ad and a lot of imagination, Connolly wrote "Safety Not Guaranteed," a romantic comedy involving time travel, conspiracy theories, the FBI, long-lost loves and a whole lot of laughs.

His work paid off: Connolly won the screenwriting award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for his first produced screenplay. And for good reason. The lineup of films that played in Park City this year was a doozy, with the likes of "The Surrogate," "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "Simon Killer" all making their world premieres. But none could match the ingenuity and freshness of "Safety Not Guaranteed," a film that came of nowhere to win the hearts of festivalgoers and critics.

Also Check Out: Our 20 Favorite Films from Sundance 2012

In the film, directed by newcomer Colin Trevorrow, "Parks and Recreation" star Aubrey Plaza gets to flex her leading-lady muscles as Darius, a Seattle-based magazine intern who is sent to get a juicy story out of the man behind the quirky ad. Being an intern, Darius is accompanied by Jake (Jake M. Johnson), a senior journalist at the publication, who gives Darius the thankless task of seducing the time-traveling hopeful to nab an exclusive. To Darius' amusement, her target, Kenneth (Mark Duplass), turns out to be a reasonably attractive oddball, one who may very well have the ability to go back in time.

From there on in, Connolly's script keeps the surprises coming and the romance between Darius and Kenneth blossoming. He also keeps remarkably focused on the characters populating his gonzo tale, and not on the "high conceptness" of it all. The "Back to the Future" elements of the story never take away from the delicate love story at the center of "Safety Not Guaranteed," making for a movie that can appeal to sci-fi fans as well as the uninitiated.

Of course, the winning success of the comedy can't all be credited to Connolly. Plaza kills it in her first lead role. She brings her signature brand of deadpan comic delivery, used to such great effect in "Parks and Recreation," to the film, but Plaza surprises by burrowing deep into Darius' vulnerable and troubled nature. You can't help but love and empathize with her -- something you might also say about "Safety Not Guaranteed."

Guys really love their balls. They love holding them, whacking them and chasing them with glee. And sometimes, men just like to gaze at their balls fondly. Yes, it's hard to get between a dude and a ball if his mind's set on playing with it.

A recently released photo of Michael Fassbender from the highly anticipated sci-fi epic "Prometheus" got us in the mood to explore this (totally wholesome and impossible to misconstrue) subject matter. So to keep you well-rounded on the topic, here's some great moments between man and man's true best friend.

Disney

The beautiful princess looking for love, the evil stepmother thwarting her every move, the handsome prince who comes to her rescue -- all are classic fairy tale characters that have come to life on the big screen, ever since the invention of movies.

"Snow White and the Huntsman" is just the latest cinematic re-telling of a classic fairy tale, following closely on the heels of the similarly Snow White-centric "Mirror Mirror." These types of films may be experiencing a renaissance, as there are many more movies based on fairy tales in the pipeline, with top talent attached. Here's a look at what's coming to a movie theater near you.

'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters'

Mash up action, comedy, and horror in a movie produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy, and you get Jeremy Renner as Hansel and Gemma Arterton as Gretel. This memorable title is slated for release early next year in 3-D, after Paramount pushed back its March 2012 release date. It is set 15 years after the siblings' traumatic gingerbread-house incident, when they are bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world.

Getty Images

'Maleficent'

In what's being billed as a Disney deconstruction of the classic fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty," Angelina Jolie stars as the self-proclaimed Mistress of All Evil, opposite Elle Fanning as the princess. Set for release in March 2014, the project starts shooting in England next month with Imelda Staunton and Miranda Richardson costarring.

'Pan'

We pretty much guarantee Sean Bean won't be beheaded in this dark re-imagining of author J.M. Barrie's tale of Peter Pan. Bean plays Smee, a cop who aids former detective Hook (Aaron Eckhart) in his pursuit of a childlike kidnapper. AnnaSophia Robb ("Soul Surfer") joins them as Wendy, the only kid who's ever escaped the villain's clutches.

'The Little Mermaid'

Director Joe Wright ("Atonement," "Pride and Prejudice") helms this new version of the Hans Christian Andersen classic. It's the tale of a young mermaid who gives up her life aquatic to love a human prince on land, penned by Abi Morgan ("Shame," "The Iron Lady"). No cast members have been officially announced.

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'Sleeping Beauty'

Hailee Steinfeld of "True Grit" fame will star in this contemporary interpretation of the fairy tale, taking the iconic princess on a journey to explore her dream world while she simultaneously tries to escape it. It's still in development, with no other cast members officially announced.

'Hansel and Gretel 3-D'

This upcoming production already has a tagline: "If you end up lost in the woods, you may just find yourself." But no cast has yet been announced for this new adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairytale about a young brother and sister surviving a wicked witch in her gingerbread house. It's set to be shot in Germany, the origin country of the classic tale.

Warner Bros.

'Jack the Giant Killer'

Fee-fi-fo fum. We smell the blood of actor Nicholas Hoult as Jack -- you know, the one who climbs the beanstalk magically growing outside his window and battles a fearsome race of giants. Naturally, there's also a princess involved, played by Eleanor Tomlinson. Noted director Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects," "X-Men") brings it to the screen in March 2013.

'Enchanted 2'

Amy Adams will reportedly reprise her role as Giselle in this Disney sequel to the blockbuster 2007 film, which brought the fairy tale princess to real-life New York City in her quest for love. James Marsden, Julie Andrews and Patrick Dempsey are also rumored to be part of the cast again for this 2014 release.

'Arabian Nights'

Liam Hemsworth stars as Ali Baba in this new adaptation of the tale in which he rescues Persian Queen Scheherazade and her kingdom from dark powers. A 1942 version scored four Oscar nominations; an Italian version was distributed in 1974 by United Artists and won a top prize at the Cannes Film Festival that year.

'Pinocchio'

With Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth," "Hellboy") at the helm, this is certain to be a darker version of the classic children's fairy tale of a wooden puppet that transforms into a real living boy. Daniel Radcliffe is rumored to star, with a shoot planned to start next summer.