By Kurt Schlosser
NBC News

Zach Galifianakis warned Brian Williams that viewers would turn off a long interview piece with the actor if it aired on "Rock Center." But after watching several candid minutes with the comedian and "Hangover" star on Friday night, it was hard not to be left wanting more.

Galifianakis, the bearded comic turned reluctant big-time star, opened up to Williams about more than just the buddy-movie trilogy that has made his extended Greek moniker a household name.

They talked about life on the North Carolina farm where Galifianakis, 43, and his wife Quinn Lundberg spend part of each year. "I have donkeys. I have blueberries," Galifianakis said. "But enough about your Brooklyn apartment," Williams countered. "I asked about North Carolina."

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Cue the whistling: Galifianakis says a 6th grade visit from the man behind the iconic theme song of "The Andy Griffith Show" convinced him he should go into show business. "I remember being affected by that whistler, thinking I could maybe try to do something like that with my life. Not whistling ... but telling diarrhea jokes."

But it's no joke that life at home on the farm has framed Galifianakis' view of Hollywood and all that comes with being a celebrity. "It's not for me. I'm not into that scene," he said. "It's so stupid. It's all so dumb. It's so weird to me."

And for a man with the last name Galifianakis, there's a punchline waiting in the wings. "If I've always wanted to have my name up in lights I would have changed it to Don't Walk." Nod. Wink. Cheers.

Starring roles on television aside, it's the "Hangover" movies which did put Galifianakis' name in lights. Alan -- the portly, man-purse carrying sidekick to Bradley Cooper's Phil and Ed Helms' Stu -- is back in theaters May 23 in the third and final movie.

And any interview with Galifianakis wouldn't be complete without actually being interviewed with ferns for a backdrop, something he's turned into comedic art with his fake Internet talk show "Between Two Ferns." Williams brought the two ferns to the interview and Galifianakis was game for a lengthy chat among the plants.

"This is the longest conversation I've had with anyone in, like, seven years," Galifianakis said, contradicting his earlier directive to Williams to "do a couple of jokes and then get out."

Casting any movie is tough, but try casting a "Star Trek" movie, knowing that the original television characters are already dearly beloved by millions of devoted fans. Few actors are as associated with their roles as William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. Yet when Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto took over those roles in the 2009 film "Star Trek," reviews were mostly quite positive. As Pine, Quinto and co-stars prepare to beam down to theaters once again in "Star Trek Into Darkness," let's take a look at how the new actors fill out their Starfleet uniforms.

James T. Kirk
Classic:  William Shatner
New: Chris Pine

Paramount via Getty / Warner Bros

Chris Pine plays Capt. Kirk in the new "Star Trek" movies, but he can't beat the classic William Shatner.

The Shat has built a fine post-“Trek” career -- once he accepted with good humor that he would never, ever be forgotten as Kirk. But that aside, Classic Kirk has to rule over New Kirk. Classic Kirk had a twinkle in his eye, was never afraid to bare a chest, and had a way with a universe’s worth of ladies. We haven’t seen that yet in New Kirk, who’s more of a tomcat than a ladies’ man and far from an unquestioned leader. Plus, only Classic Kirk has proven he can create a bazooka out of a log, dirt and gemstones.

Advantage: Classic Kirk

Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
Classic: DeForest Kelley
New: Karl Urban

Paramount via Getty / Warner Bros

Karl Urban and DeForest Kelley both have their good points as Bones, but the new guy, Urban, is a handsome bad boy.

Okay, so Classic Bones wasn’t afraid to smack a hoity-toity pregnant lady if he needed to do an examination. But something about his eternal grumpiness and pointed Spock-like eyebrows made Kelley's version of the doctor a little hard to like. New Bones is good looking enough to give Kirk a run for his money (if you like ‘em dark and mercurial), he rocks a beard and swigs from a flask when necessary. New Bones is a bad boy as well as a doc, and that is the wave of the future.

Advantage: New McCoy

Spock
Classic: Leonard Nimoy
New: Zachary Quinto

Paramount via Getty / Warner Bro

Bravo, Zachary Quinto! The actor has taken on Leonard Nimoy's famed Spock and given him a modern update.

The old neck-pincher is one of the toughest decisions to make, particularly since Classic Spock (or rather, Spock Prime) makes an appearance in the rebooted series. The casting of Quinto as a youthful Nimoy is spot-on, unlike many of the other cast choices – and the 2009 film even showed a pre-adolescent Spock on top of everything else. In a way, this is the best blended character with some of the series’ most memorable personality quirks and special powers. How can we choose just one?

Advantage: Both Spocks

Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott
Classic: James Doohan
New: Simon Pegg

Paramount via Getty / Warner Bros

Simon Pegg isn't quite as devoted to the Enterprise as the original Scotty, James Doohan -- and that's a good thing.

You know, Classic Scotty really, really loved the Enterprise. Possibly a bit too much. Sure, he was the engineer and knew all of the inner workings of the ship, but sometimes you had to wonder if it made him a little touched in the head, being stuck down in the boiler room all the time. (No wonder he could outdrink an alien.) No such issue with New Scotty, who is still getting to know the big old girl and may take a long time to find his love connection. And that’s good for tension and comedy.

Advantage: New Scotty

Hikaru Sulu
Classic: George Takei
New: John Cho

Paramount via Getty / Warner Bros

Which Sulu rules, John Cho or George Takei? It's a tie!

In the 2009 film, Sulu got a few big moments –- such as when he had to skydive from space and parachute onto a drilling platform, then fight off some Romulans. But the sword battle part of that scene was really an homage to one of Classic Sulu’s greatest scenes: When his inner swashbuckler comes to light and he runs around waving an epee. At the moment, there’s just not enough information on New Sulu to warrant leaving Classic Sulu behind, so we’d tend to lean toward Classic Sulu (oh, myyyy!) – but let’s consider this the wild card in the bunch.

Advantage: Tie

Pavel Chekov
Classic: Walter Koenig
New: Anton Yelchin

Paramount via Getty / Warner Bros

New Chekov Anton Yelchin is a real Russian, unlike Walter Koenig from the classic series.

First off, if you’re gonna have a Russian on the Enterprise, hire a dang Russian. All due respect to Classic Chekov, but a Monkee look-alike from Chicago doesn’t hold much of a candle to New Chekov, whose portrayer hails from Leningrad and plays him as more delightfully impulsive than the originator. Plus, he was able to save Spock’s father thanks to some fantastical manipulation of the transporter. And he’s a navigator!

Advantage: New Chekov

Nyota Uhura
Classic: Nichelle Nichols
New: Zoe Saldana

Paramount via Getty / Warner Bros

Zoe Saldana's Uhura serves mostly as eye candy, whereas Nichelle Nichols juggled many roles.

Here’s a surprise: A show that began in the 1960s is better at handling its one regular female crew member than one in the new millennium. New Uhura served largely as eye candy and as a sex object for New Kirk, even if she could kick more butt and talk dirty. Classic Uhura managed to juggle all of her subspace frequencies far better -- and of course was the shared co-conspirator in one of TV’s first interracial kisses, when she and Classic Kirk locked lips.

Advantage: Classic Uhura

Final tallies: Four classics and five from the new bunch (though Spock and Sulu bridge both categories). Surprise! It turns out that the new franchise has managed to improve on the old -- though we sense there will be some disagreement on this issue. Tell us who your favorite newcomer is in our poll.

decodingannieparkerfilm.com

Helen Hunt stars as Mary-Clare King, a geneticist who spent years researching the breast-cancer gene, in the film "Decoding Annie Parker."

Angelina Jolie's revelation in Tuesday's New York Times that she had a preventive double mastectomy stirred many to think about something they may be mostly unfamiliar with: The existence of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that reveal an increased risk of breast cancer.

But a group of actors and filmmakers were already immersed in that realm. Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt stars in "Decoding Annie Parker," an upcoming film about the discovery of BRCA1. 

Hunt plays geneticist Mary-Claire King, who spent years researching families with histories of cancer and identified BRCA1 in 1990.

The film's trailer shows that it wasn't an easy road for King. In its opening scene, King is asked, "You believe there may be a genetic link to some breast cancers?"

"I do," she says.

"Even though virtually no one else believes this to be true?"

"That's correct," King responds.

The film tells not only King's story, but that of Annie Parker (played by Samantha Morton) who lost her mother and sister to cancer before being diagnosed herself at age 29.

"Your family did have a bit of bad luck, but there are many complex factors--" a doctor in the film tells Parker.

"It's not bad luck," she responds from her hospital bed.

The film's topic may make it a hard sell for some when other screens are showing light entertainment such as "Iron Man 3" and "Fast and Furious 6," but the filmmakers knew that going in.

"We knew there were going to be serious obstacles to getting people to watch (the film)," director Steven Bernstein said at the Dallas International Film Festival. "People's first reaction would be 'Oh, it's a film about cancer, I don't want to see it.' So we had to get the word out the film was about something bigger than that -- although cancer's a very, very big thing indeed -- but it's something about the human condition that we were trying to express. Something that people could actually come and see and feel uplifted by rather than depressed by."

"Decoding Annie Parker" has been playing at film festivals around the nation and will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in France this month, with a general release expected in the fall. Aaron Paul, Rashida Jones, Bradley Whitford and Maggie Grace also star in the movie.

Getty Images file

Adele and Justin Bieber.

Americans may buy Justin Bieber's music, but that doesn't mean they like him much. According to a recent survey from Public Policy Polling, the pop idol is just not considered very likable: He received 54 percent unfavorable ratings and only 20 percent likable ones in the poll, which surveyed 571 voters on May 6 and 7 across the U.S. 

PPP was testing the favorability ratings of some of today's biggest music stars, and -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- a Brit earned the most accolades: Adele had 54 percent likability; close on her heels were Taylor Swift (53 percent), Justin Timberlake (52 percent) and Beyonce (51 percent). But breaking that 50 percent mark was hard for virtually everyone else -- including Jay-Z (25 percent), Lady Gaga (29 percent) and Rihanna (30 percent). 

No surprise: Chris Brown's likability rating? A mere 13 percent. (And only 8 percent said that Rihanna should get back together with Brown; 67 percent say forget about that relationship.)

Bieber's numbers were the only ones that ran across party lines -- Democrats, Republicans and Independents all said they had negative views of him. Meanwhile, given the choices of Adele, Bieber, Beyonce, Brown, Jay-Z, Timberlake, Lady Gaga or Rihanna, as President of the U.S., 34 percent chose Timberlake. 

That said, when asked if Timberlake should keep making music, acting, reuniting with N'Sync or playing golf, the biggest group said stick with the songs (40 percent).

PPP surveyed 571 voters nationwide on May 6th and 7th. The margin of error is +/-4.1%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

AFP-Getty Images file

Marcheline Bertrand and Angelina Jolie in 2001.

Just two days after Mother's Day, Angelina Jolie made a shocking announcement. The actress revealed in the New York Times that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy. The timing seems apt: Losing her own mother, Marcia Lynne "Marcheline" Bertrand, to ovarian cancer in 2007 spurred Jolie's decision to have the operation.

"My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56," Jolie wrote in her New York Times op-ed column on Tuesday. "We often speak of 'Mommy's mommy,' and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us."

While Jolie's mother acted in numerous films, including a role in former husband Jon Voight's 1982 comedy "Lookin' to Get Out," she left acting after her two children were born and never returned.

"I will never be as good a mother as she was," Jolie said of Bertrand on 60 Minutes in 2011. "I will try my best, but I don’t think I could ever be. She was grace incarnate, the most generous, loving --  she’s better than me."

Jolie was estranged from her father for most of her life, but clearly carried her mother's influence with her wherever she went: During the filming of 2008's "Changeling," Jolie told the Times that she kept photos of her late mother in the purses her character carried. 

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Marcheline Bertrand, center, in an undated photo with her children Angelina Jolie, left, and James Haven.

After leaving acting, Bertrand ran her own production house, Woods Road Productions. She executive-produced the 2005 documentary "Trudell," about her partner, Native American poet and activist John Trudell. She claimed Native American ancestry herself, and she and Trudell founded the All Tribes Foundation to benefit Native Americans. Her humanitarian leanings clearly transferred to her daughter, who was appointed as a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2012.

After Bertrand was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the late 1990s, she and Trudell founded the Give Love Give Life organization to raise awareness of ovarian and other gynecological cancers through music. After a long battle with her own cancer, she died on Jan 27, 2007. 

"She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms," Jolie wrote in the Times piece about her own mastectomies. "But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

Three of Jolie's six children were born before Bertrand passed away, and since then, she and partner Brad Pitt have had three more children. A year and a half after she died, Jolie had twins Knox and Vivienne, and gave Vivienne the middle name of Marcheline in her mother's honor.

"There are no words to express what an amazing woman and mother she was," Jolie and Haven told People Magazine upon the death of their mother. "She was our best friend."

A best friend who sadly fell victim to a family curse: "There is no longevity on my mother's side of the family," Jolie told Esquire in 2010. "My grandmother also died young, so my mother always thought it could happen to her. But she lived to see her grandchildren, lived to see both me and my brother in a nice place. She was a real mother that way. She waited till everyone was okay. Then she closed her eyes."

Slideshow: Angelina Jolie

Toby Melville / Reuters

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The new Baz Luhrmann-directed film adaptation of "The Great Gatsby"made a big bang over the weekend at the box office with a $50 million take domestically, but it wasn't the first time the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic had been made for the big screen, Back in 1974, the book was adapted with stars Robert Redford (as Gatsby), Mia Farrow (as Daisy) and Sam Waterston (as Nick Carraway).

While critics have had mixed opinions about the current musically-modernized version, they were far less kind to 1974's take (written by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by Jack Clayton) -- the late critic Roger Ebert called it a "superficially beautiful hunk of a movie with nothing much in common with the spirit" of the novel.

But what if Clayton's adaptation had been Luhrmannized? What if you could take jazzed-up modern tunes and a score by Jay-Z and slap them on a hyper-cut trailer of the old film -- would the movie have seemed more exciting?

Film fan Richard Sandling (aka "That Awesome Movie Guy") wanted to find out, and cut a trailer from the 1974 film in the style of today's movie (see below).

Whatever you think of the new "old" film's trailer, the box office battle is still being waged: "Gatsby's" 1974 earnings of $26.5 million would be $121.7 million adjusted for inflation today.

Here's the "remixed" 1974 "Gatsby" trailer:

And here's the current "Gatsby" trailer it riffs from:

And for you completists, here's the original 1974 trailer, de-Luhrmannized:

Angelina Jolie says she has undergone a preventive double mastectomy after being told that she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer, along with a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer.

In an article published in the opinion section of Tuesday's New York Times, Jolie said her decision was informed by her mother's long fight against cancer. Marcheline Bertrand died in 2007 at age 56.

Jolie said she hoped that other women would find encouragement from her story. 

"I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer," Jolie said in the Times article. "It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options." 

Jolie, an Oscar-winning actress and activist, said she carries a gene, BRCA1, that increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. According to Jolie and a fact sheet from the Cancer Institute at Stanford Medicine, women with the BRCA1 gene have an average of a 65 percent lifetime risk for breast cancer, along with heightened risk of the cancer at an early age. Jolie is 37. 

Jolie said three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved were completed April 27. She said the surgery included implants to reconstruct her breasts.

She said that her partner, Brad Pitt, was present for the surgeries. She said her six children, who range in age from 11 to 4, saw nothing that made them uncomfortable.

"They can see my small scars and that’s it," Jolie wrote. "Everything else is just Mommy, the same as she always was. And they know that I love them and will do anything to be with them as long as I can."

Other famous women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have undergone preventive double mastectomies, including reality star Sharon Osbourne, wife of rocker Ozzy.

"I've had cancer before and I didn't want to live under that cloud," Osborne said in an interview last fall.

In January, Miss America contestant Allyn Rose, representing the District of Columbia, announced that she carries another genetic mutation -- not BRCA1 or BRCA2 -- and plans to have a double mastectomy after her year of serving as Miss D.C.

Friends and fans were quick to support Jolie via messages on Twitter. Actress Marlee Matlin called her "brave, honest (and) strong." And "Veronica Mars" star Kristen Bell praised Jolie's article as "admirable."

Slideshow: Angelina Jolie

Toby Melville / Reuters

Highlights from her Oscar-winning acting career, family life with Brad Pitt and worldwide humanitarian efforts.

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Related stories:

Some cancer patients may face high drug costs under new health care law

Jolie isn't alone: Other celebrities have battled breast cancer

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield comes down from the International Space Station on Tuesday, having charmed countless earthlings with his social-media skills, guitar-strumming and bold facial hair.

We hope they make a movie about him, because William H. Macy could have a ball bringing him to life on the screen.

In the meantime, here are some astronauts from the annals of pop culture who also winged their way into our heart with more, ahem, traditional attributes.

NBCU Photo Bank

Pictured: (l-r) Larry Hagman as Anthony 'Tony' Nelson, Barbara Eden as Jeannie.

Larry Hagman in "I Dream of Jeannie": Forget Jeannie — what female TV viewer didn't dream of Maj. Tony Nelson? Sure, he kept his emotions and his 2,000-year-old lady friend bottled up. But remember how good he looked in those dress blues? No wonder the genie spent five seasons trying to please her master.

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck embrace in a scene from the film 'Armageddon', 1998.

Ben Affleck in "Armageddon": Roger Ebert once described the movie as "an assault on the eyes" but surely he wasn't talking about the actor who played A.J. Frost, the core-driller drafted to save the earth from an asteroid. Heck, Bruce Willis was so smitten that he took his spot on the suicide mission so Affleck could marry his daughter.

Archive Photos / Getty Images

Ed Harris as John Glenn in a scene from the film 'The Right Stuff', 1962.

Ed Harris in "The Right Stuff": With Dennis Quaid and Sam Shepard in the testosterone-fueled cast of the 1983 movie about the Mercury 7 astronauts, Harris has some tough-guy competition. But he stood up to the vice president and he cracked down on his philandering crew mates. Oh, and did we mention he was the first American to orbit the earth?

Universal Pictures / Getty Images

Kevin Bacon checking controls in a scene from the film 'Apollo 13', 1995.

Kevin Bacon in "Apollo 13": Another easy-on-the-eyes ensemble cast, but Ed Harris doesn't get two bites at the astronaut apple, so Bacon's Jack Swigert gets the nod. He's inexperienced and cocky and gets blamed for the accident that almost turns the crew into space junk. But he helps save the day and looks good doing it. Catch you on the flip side, Kevin.

7831 / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

"The Space Cowboys

The cast of "Space Cowboys": Have four senior citizens ever looked so good in jumpsuits and bomber jackets? Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner may not have washboard abs or even all their hair in this 2000 flick, but they've got experience, courage and a lot of one-liners about getting old. 

Sony Pictures Classics

Sam Rockwell in a scene from 'Moon'.

Sam Rockwell in "Moon": It couldn't have been easy to eclipse the gorgeous sci-fi effects of this 2009 film, but somehow Rockwell managed. Nearing the end of a solo three-year stint on the lunar landscape, Rockwell's brooding character, Sam Bell, wakes up to find what appears to be a clone. Disturbing for him; double the treat for us.

NBC

Mix Dexter is Liz Lemon's "astronaut boyfriend" on the show "30 Rock." He doesn't really exist.

Mike Dexter from "30 Rock": We didn't get a look at Liz Lemon's imaginary man — "My boyfriend, astronaut Mike Dexter, will be picking me up. On his motorcycle" — until the fourth episode. Yet the fantasy spaceman was worth the wait. Chiseled good looks. Spiffy orange jumpsuit. And a way with words: “I hope you enjoyed the kissing followed by my genuine interest in that TV dance competition."

Talya C. Arbisser

Dr. Joyce Brothers.

Popular television psychologist and columnist Joyce Brothers passed away at her home in Fort Lee, New Jersey on Monday, her family confirmed to NBC News. She was 85.

Brothers died peacefully, surrounded by family, according to an obituary written by her family and provided to NBC News.

She was born on October 20, 1927 in New York City and married physician Milton Brothers in 1949.

Her career spanned nearly six decades after her start in 1955 as the only woman to ever win the television quiz show “The $64,000 Question.”

And in 1958 she was offered a trial television show on NBC where she doled out advice on personal problems ranging from love, marriage and raising a family. The show took off and she gained fame by diving into subjects that at the time were seen as too taboo to speak about publicly.

Her television show would soon make her a pop culture fixture.  She made nearly 100 appearances on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show.” Her frequent public appearances propelled her to become one of the most admired women in America, appearing on Gallup’s list of most admired American women.

Her syndicated column appeared in more than 350 newspapers.

But Brothers’ status as a “media psychologist” was sometimes cause for critique by other members of her profession. Some in her field called it unprofessional to diagnose patients on the spot without knowing their backgrounds, but she responded by saying that she always would advise people to seek professional help when needed.

Brothers is survived by her sister, Judge Elaine Goldsmith (retired) of Somerville, New Jersey, her daughter Dr. Lisa Brothers Arbisser, and son-in-law Dr. Amir Arbisser, of Davenport, Iowa and Sarasota, Florida, four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren.

Most adults have probably read F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," whether for pleasure or for sophomore English class. It's just a slim novella, but it's been adapted into movies, referenced on television shows, turned into an opera, inspired songs, been re-imagined by other authors, and even become an opera and two computer games.

Warner Bros

Jay Gatsby drives a 1929 Dusenberg in the movie, which is set in 1922. Some fans of the book argue that he should only be in a Rolls-Royce.

But the new movie version, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as his longtime love Daisy, is perhaps the most expensive and ambitious iteration yet. It cost $127 million to make, is nearly two and a half hours long, and for some reason, is offered in 3-D.

If you're seeing the movie and are wondering how it compares it to the book, here's a cheat sheet.

You'll recognize some quotes, not others
The exact words Fitzgerald wrote are vitally important to many fans. Microsoft founder Bill Gates reportedly has one of its famed last lines -- "He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it" -- painted on the library ceiling in his gigantic Seattle-area home. Such folks will be happy to know that in several critical places, including the all-important ending, the script sticks exactly to Fitzgerald's words. Daisy's poignant outburst about how the best thing in the world a girl can be is "a beautiful little fool" made the cut. Nick's speech about being one of the few who was actually invited to Gatsby's parties is pretty close. And the book's very first sentence, where Nick muses on advice his father gave him, is uttered word-for-word -- but then the script veers off and does its own thing.

Fitzgerald's plot gets a weird framing device
Messing with Fitzgerald's plot would have been a literary scandal, so the main Gatsby-Daisy-Tom triangle, the extravagant parties, the car accident and more all remain. But purists will cringe at the movie's framing device, where narrator Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) tells the story of Gatsby from a sanitarium where he's being treated for alcoholism and anxiety. At the film's end, he's seen finishing typing up the story with "GATSBY" as its title, then slashing the words "THE GREAT" over it in pen. Fitzgerald himself was reportedly ambivalent about the title, and tried out many versions, from "Trimalchio in West Egg" to "The High-Bouncing Lover."

Warner Bros

The "Great Gatsby" movie invents scenes where Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is writing the story while in a sanitarium.

Did the 1920s have hip-hop and inflatable zebras?
"Gatsby" is set in 1922, amidst the roar of jazz and flapper culture. If you're interested in history, you can have fun picking out the objects that simply shouldn't exist in that era.

In the book, an air mattress is famously present in a key scene, although Fitzgerald called it a "pneumatic mattress." Weirdly, the mattress is absent from that vital scene entirely. But it does appear in an earlier pool scene, along with ... inflatable zebras? Director Baz Luhrmann defended the stripey critters to the New York Times, saying period photographs show them. Perhaps, but Fitzgerald's book does not.

Warner Bros.

Gatsby's parties were legendary in the novel, but they did not include inflatable zebras.

Luhrmann also defended "Gatsby's" Jay-Z led soundtrack, saying that what jazz was to Fitzgerald's era, hip-hop is to modern times. "Why would Fitzgerald put such ephemeral stuff, actual song lyrics, in his book?" Luhrmann asked the paper. "Because it made it immediate and visceral and exciting for the reader. And when you think of an African-American street music today that is visceral and exciting and is making a big impression on popular culture, that’s hip-hop." Jay-Z's lyrics do reference the time period in some parts -- "no Prohibition for my coalition" runs one line.

Don't get your historian friends or car junkies started on the "Gatsby" cars. The movie shows DiCaprio's Gatsby driving a 1929 Dusenberg (a replica, made in the 1980s). The book clearly states Gatsby has a Rolls-Royce -- true, but it's also mentioned that he has more than one car -- so he could have owned a Dusenberg as well. But with the movie set in 1922, it wouldn't have been a 1929 model. Blogger Jerry Garrett, though, makes a convincing argument that a Dusenberg would not have impressed Daisy in the way a Rolls would have, and that impressing Daisy was what Gatsby lived for, so a Dusenberg is unlikely. (And the car chase it gets into -- with a 1930 Buick -- needless to say that wasn't in the book either.)

Slideshow: From the page to the screen

Warner Bros.

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Why the 3-D?
"The Great Gatsby" seems like the most unlikely movie ever to get the 3-D treatment. This is not a superhero film, where Captain America's shield flies out at the audience, or a kids' movie, where viewers are easily enchanted by floating bubbles. Luhrmann told the Times that he felt the medium made the film more exciting and that he felt Fitzgerald would have approved. That led to the following hilarious tweet from former "Mystery Science Theater 3000" star Frank Coniff: "Baz Luhrmann says Fitzgerald would have wanted a 3-D Gatsby with rap music. Agreed -- he was an alcoholic with poor judgement."

Well then, old sport
If you need an engaging exercise while watching the new film, old sport, count how many times Gatsby says "old sport" to someone. We lost track around 20, old sport, but maybe you can keep up. But go back to the book, old sport -- Fitzgerald's Gatsby does use that nickname frequently, old sport, perhaps the affectation of a North Dakota boy who briefly spent time at Oxford and thinks it the height of sophistication. So on this point, old sport, we're giving the film a pass.

Reuters, Getty Images

Jodi Arias, left, pictured during her trial at Maricopa County Superior Court. Tania Raymonde, right, will play Arias in the upcoming Lifetime movie about her trial.

As convicted murderer Jodi Arias sits in an Arizona jail’s psychiatric ward on suicide watch, actress Tania Raymonde is 400 miles away portraying Arias for an upcoming Lifetime movie.

Best known for her work on “Lost,” Raymonde has dyed her hair blonde for the movie tentatively titled “The Jodi Arias Story,” which is being filmed in the Los Angeles area. Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday in the death of her ex boyfriend, Travis Alexander, who she stabbed 29 times, including slashing his throat, and shot once in the head on June 4, 2008, according to trial testimony.

When "The Jodi Arias Story" airs this June, the people who were glued to the four-month long proceedings can expect the same fascinating courtroom drama in the movie version of Arias' trial.

“Tania has somehow tapped into the sweet and likable things that drew Travis to Jodi, into Jodi’s weird eccentricities that are hard to explain, and into the demons that drove this young woman to do such a terrible, extreme thing,” said Arturo Interian, vice president of original movies for Lifetime Networks and A&E networks. “Tania has immersed herself in this role and I’ve seen her go from sexy to downright scary in the same scene.”

Lifetime began developing the film in March of 2012. An early draft of the script obtained by NBCNews.com indicates that the movie will prominently feature Arias’ and Alexander’s tumultuous on-and-off romance—along with their now infamous sex life—and the events that led to his brutal death. In fact, it opens with the pig-tailed Arias nude on a bed posing for photographs—an iconic image to the trial’s followers.

But now that Arias has been convicted, Interian said the script is being re-written to include key trial moments, particularly some of the heated exchanges between prosecutor Juan Martinez and Arias during cross-examination. Actor Tony Plana has been cast to play Martinez, who has become a local star and YouTube sensation as the result of his vigorous cross-examination techniques. Raymonde will go back to being a brunette for those scenes.

The script portrays Arias as a self-help-yearning, budding photographer who becomes obsessed with Alexander as soon as she meets him. She sneaks into his house through the doggie door, sends threatening emails to other women, and stalks him. Alexander is depicted as a flirtatious and popular goofball who becomes sexually addicted to Arias but does try to get rid of her.

During the televised trial, Arias testified for 18 days and provided outrageous and explicit details of her rocky relationship with Alexander, including a phone sex tape she recorded, photographs they took of each other having sex, and tales of Tootsie Pops and Pop Rocks escapades.

“We approached this story creatively from the point of view that Travis was the victim, and were trying to wrap our arms around why Jodi did what she did,” Interian said. “I think the verdict certainly validated our approach…I think people are fascinated with Jodi and I think this film is a serious attempt to look at what makes her tick. At the same time, I think what’s been lost in this story is the victim in this case.”

Jesse Lee Soffer of “The Mob Doctor” is playing Alexander and “will bring home the fact that a young man died needlessly here,” Interian said. The network hopes to bring to life Arias’ and Alexander’s relationship “in a way that only movies can.”

“Jesse’s a handsome fellow and he brings such a humanity to Travis,” Interian said. “You really understand this was a charismatic young man, a successful motivational speaker, and you really see why Jodi fell so hard for him. And I think Travis had a bit of naiveté as to what Jodi was capable of, and I think that Jesse captures that so well. Travis wanted to believe the best about Jodi and it cost him.”

And, of course, there will be sex. Although some of Alexander’s friends believed him to be a virgin, Arias provided plenty of evidence to the contrary during the trial.  But can a basic cable network handle their X-rated trysts?

“There was certainly more to the Jodi-Travis relationship than just sex but given the dirty phone calls, the naked pictures, the sexts between them, certainly the media has focused in on their sex lives,” Interian said. “They were a young couple and they had kinky sex. I think our director, Jace Alexander, is up to the challenge. It’s basic cable so we don’t have to be quite so chaste as folks think. So, yes, there will be sex.”

Floria Sigismondi

David Bowie, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman.

When David Bowie makes a comeback, he does so in style -- and has lots of famous friends who want in on the fun. His latest music video, the title track from his album "The Next Day," stars Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard and Oscar-nominated actor Gary Oldman -- and seems designed to stir controversy.

The video, directed by Floria Sigismondi (who also directed the video for Bowie's earlier release' "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)"), features Oldman as a priest, Bowie as a prophet (think Jesus Christ) and Cotillard as a saintly figure. Meanwhile, in the background, a Cardinal is dealing in cash and a nun prays ... and that's before the stigmata starts gushing.

At the video's end, the cast of characters gathers around Bowie as he beatifically thanks Oldman and Cotillard directly, then "everybody," and at the toll of a bell, vanishes.

(Note: Video contains some violent scenes.)

Bowie's "Stars" video also featured an Oscar winner: Tilda Swinton.

He's worked with Oldman before; the pair recorded Bowie's "You've Been Around" for frequent Bowie-collaborator and guitarist Reeves Gabrel's 1995 album "The Sacred Squall of Now." Oldman and Bowie also appeared together in the 1996 biopic "Basquiat," where Bowie played Andy Warhol and Oldman played painter Albert Milo. 

There's an abundance of entertainment talent who call the Boston area home, so its no surprise that many of those musicians and performers have come together for an event to support The One Fund Boston, which benefits those most affected by the April 15 bombings.

EPA, AP, Getty

James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, and Aerosmith are all part of "Boston Strong: An Evening of Support and Celebration" on May 30.

On May 30, Aerosmith, Jason Aldean, Boston, Jimmy Buffett, Dane Cook, Extreme, Godsmack, The J. Geils Band, Carole King, New Kids on the Block, James Taylor, and Steven Wright will perform at "Boston Strong: An Evening of Support and Celebration." More acts are expected to join the rundown for the event, which will be held at TD Garden. 

Donnie Wahlberg, a native Bostonian and member of New Kids of the Block, said that he hopes the event will have a scope that goes beyond just raising money.

"Like so many other proud Bostonians who have been extremely generous, we are honored to step up and do our part to help the victims and their families," Wahlberg said. "Hopefully this event will not only raise money, but spirits as well."

Taylor said that the will to do something for the city was a genuine one. "Everyone involved has responded from the heart in a spontaneous and simultaneous desire to be there, and to do what we can for the city we love," he said. "I am honored to be a part of it, and ... I can't wait."

Tickets go on sale Monday, May 6, at 10 a.m. Check out www.aconcertforboston.org for more specifics.

Jonathan Phillips / REUTERS

Chris Kelly of Kris Kross performs in February 2013.

Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly's death is being investigated as a possible drug overdose, Cpl. Kay Lester, a spokeswoman for Atlanta's Fulton County police, told NBCNews.com.

Information obtained from family members and others at the scene helped lead the investigation in that direction, but more information won't be known until toxicology results are back from Kelly's autopsy, Lester said.

That autopsy, completed Thursday morning in Atlanta, showed no signs of foul play or trauma, the Fulton County medical examiner's office told NBCNews.com. Toxicology results will be available in approximately three weeks, a spokeswoman said.

Kelly, 34, was discovered unresponsive in his Atlanta home Wednesday and pronounced dead early that evening. Kelly and childhood friend Chris Smith traveled the world as 1990s rap group Kris Kross when they were just 13, and their hit song "Jump" was certified double platinum.

On Thursday, both Chris Smith and Kelly's family issued statements mourning Kelly.

"His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him," said the statement from Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, and his record label So So Def.

In his statement, Kelly's musical partner Smith said, "Our friendship began as little boys in first grade. We grew up together. It was a blessing to achieve the success, travel the world and entertain Kris Kross fans all around the world with my best friend."

Slideshow: Curtain Calls 2013

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Related content:

• Kris Kross rapper found dead in Atlanta

Four major superheroes have new movies this year. Superman gets a reboot in June's "Man of Steel," the deadly claws of "The Wolverine" spring back out in July, and Thor will swing his hammer in November's "Thor: The Dark World." But the liveliest of the current superhero franchises arrives Friday, as "Iron Man 3" hits theaters.

Paramount Pictures file

Iron Man feels like a more human, relatable superhero than most of his type.

Thanks in no small part to its star, the can't-take-your-eyes-off-him Robert Downey Jr., the "Iron Man" movie series has soared. With Downey in the suit and smart writing and directing behind the scripts, Iron Man/Tony Stark has transformed from his comic-book portrayal as Captain America's billionaire buddy to the most super of superheroes. Here's why.

He's got problems
Superman and Captain America are so goody-two-shoes you could bring them home to mother, even if she's Mother Teresa. Iron Man, like Downey himself, has a bad-boy rep. In his real identity as Tony Stark, he drank too much, he spent too much, he slept with too many women. He's a little more on the straight-and-narrow now, but he still has crippling anxiety attacks that leave him hyperventilating by the side of the road in a most un-heroic fashion. And he's not above dancing like a dork in his super-secret lab.

Disney

Don Cheadle, aka War Machine/Iron Patriot, is Tony Stark's pal. Unlike Robin, he's no fawning sidekick.

He's got the coolest friends
Col. James Rhodes, aka War Machine (Don Cheadle), is a much more entertaining sidekick than Batman's Robin. In his real life, he's a full-on military man, and in his suit, he's just about as tough as Iron Man. But he and Tony have the greatest just-bros relationship outside of Joey and Chandler. ("It's not the '80s, nobody says 'hacks' anymore," Tony chides him in the new film.) And we also love Tony's pal Happy (Jon Favreau), who's head of security for a global corporation but still has no idea how to work an iPad.

He's not ashamed of his suit
Captain America has his super-soldier serum, the Incredible Hulk his dose of gamma radiation. Iron Man is a smart and buff billionaire, but he wouldn't be a superhero without the powerful suit he himself invented. And who cares? Batman's just a regular billionaire too, with a really cool arsenal of Bat-gadgets. Tony's never hidden the fact that he needs his suit -- in fact, he almost revels in it, displaying his different outfits in his mansion and even giving them names.

Sometimes his stuff fails
Does it ever. Like a smartphone, sometimes Iron Man's suit is crying out for a charge at the most inconvenient moments. Other times, Tony tries to call the pieces of the suit to him, and gets smacked in the face for his troubles. In the third film, it even zips to his aid while he's sleeping, which really freaks out Pepper.

Disney

Gwyneth Paltrow is neither a babe nor a wimp as Pepper Potts.

His girlfriend is neither a wimp nor a babe
Whatever you think of World's Most Beautiful Woman Gwyneth Paltrow, she does a decent job as Tony's girlfriend, the goofily named Pepper Potts. She doesn't slink around in gowns cut down to there like a Bond girl, and she doesn't cower in the background and wait to get kidnapped either (although it has happened). She and Tony have an easy rapport and you do believe they care about each other. Tony's lost a lot of things through his own stupid fault, and it's clear he doesn't want Pepper to be one of them.

He's up on pop culture
Tony, and his entire film series, doesn't live in the 1940s, like Captain America, or in some grim and somber Gotham, like Batman. He's a part of our world, with all its bad TV and fast food and cheesy products. He wears a Black Sabbath shirt (in sly tribute to their "Iron Man" song).  He references Barrel of Monkeys during a mid-air rescue. In "Iron Man 3," he finds himself donning a Dora the Explorer watch, and learning that his pal Happy is addicted to "Downton Abbey." Tony lives in Malibu, not Made Up Ville.

He knows how to be rich
Tony Stark is a billionaire, and he knows how to be one. He bought himself a space-age stunner of a mansion on the cliffs of Malibu, and he drives fancy speedsters like the all-electric concept car, the Audi R8. He sweeps in to fancy dinners and balls in a tux and occasionally breaks a paparazzi's camera -- just as we like to think we would do if our bank account were a whole lot fatter.

Who's your favorite superhero? Vote in our poll, and tell us on Facebook.

AP

Robert Downey Jr. (in Iron Man suit) with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts in "Iron Man 3."

For the past several months, trailers for this summer's most anticipated films have been hitting the web on a nearly daily basis. But the trailers aimed at getting moviegoers excited for these big-budget releases may be showing off a bit too much.

PHOTOS: "Iron Man 3" premiere: Robert Downey Jr. mingles with Marvel royalty

According to a new study, half (49 percent) of Americans feel that movie trailers these days give away too many of a movie’s best scenes, with a full 16 percent agreeing strongly.

So should the scenes from "Iron Man 3" of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) saving a group of people falling from an airplane or flying through the air with an army of other Iron Mans be saved for when audiences actually hit the theater?

The findings from the YouGov Omnibus survey taken April 26 to 28 found that the reveal of plot in a trailer deterred only about 19 percent of respondents from wanting to see the movie. In contrast, 24 percent said that it made them want to see the film more.

PHOTOS: "Iron Man 3" Tour: Robert Downey Jr. travels the world

Movie trailers remain extremely important to audiences, playing the biggest role (48 percent) in pushing people to see a movie, followed closely by personal recommendations (46 percent).

So even if a trailer shows some of the best scenes from a film, it doesn't mean people won't see it. And films like "Iron Man 3" still have a few surprises up their sleeves (see the stars talk about what makes the film so surprising here.)

Movie studios have tried a variety of techniques over the past few years when it comes to trailers. Some, such as recent release Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise, have gone out of their way to avoid showing major surprises in the plot. And Lionsgate's "Hunger Games" trailers didn't show any of the footage from the actual arena where the fighting took place.

What remains important to moviegoers when they actually sit down in the theater is that there's a good plot or storyline to the film (77 percent), followed by the cast (45 percent), the genre (22 percent), the director (20 percent) and the book or play it’s based on (15 percent).

Tell us what you think about movie trailers over on Facebook!

UPDATED Thursday 12:06 p.m. ET: Chris Kelly, one-half of the rap duo Kris Kross — known for making America "Jump" in the 1990s — passed away on Wednesday, Georgia authorities announced. He was 34.

Kelly was discovered unresponsive in his Atlanta home and pronounced dead at Atlanta Medical Center shortly after 5:30 p.m. local time, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner. 

The  cause of death has not yet been determined. An autopsy is planned for Thursday.

Kelly and fellow Kris Kross member Chris Smith were just 13 in 1991 when they were famously discovered at Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall by well-known rapper and producer Jermaine Dupri, who was just 19 himself.

Kelly went by the nickname "Mac Daddy" and Smith went by "Daddy Mac." 

They were best known for the 1992 hit "Jump" on their debut album "Totally Krossed Out" and their penchant for wearing their clothes backwards.  "Jump" rode the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, and that same year, the teens toured Europe as part of Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" world tour. Although they would go on to release two more albums, they would never again reach the heights of "Jump."

Getty Images file

Kris Kross in 1992.

The duo also had a video game (ranked one of the 20 worst of all time by Electronic Gaming Monthly) and recorded a rap song for the cartoon "Rugrats." They appeared on the "Cosby Show" spinoff "A Different World" and in the 1993 hip-hop comedy film "Who's the Man?"

In February, Kris Kross performed together once more, performing at the 20th anniversary party for So So Def Recordings, Dupri's Atlanta record label. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that the two were "all grown up and wearing clothes the right way."

Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, and record label So So Def released this statement:

"It is with deep sadness that we announce that our beloved Chris Kelly has passed away on May 1. To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music. But to us, he was just Chris -- the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him. His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him."

Chris Smith issued his own statement, grieving over the loss of his one-time bandmate.

"Chris Kelly was my Best Friend," the rapper said in a statement, reported by E! Online. "He was like a brother. I love him and will miss him dearly.

"Our friendship began as little boys in first grade. We grew up together. It was a blessing to achieve the success, travel the world and entertain Kris Kross fans all around the world with my best friend," he continued. "It is what we wanted to do and what brought us happiness. I will always cherish the memories of the C-Connection."

On Wednesday night, rapper LL Cool J tweeted a link to his new song, "Jump On It," with the words, "R.I.P Chris Kelly. This song is now officially dedicated to you. May GOD embrace your soul & lift up your family."

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Once you're an adult, summer doesn't quite mean what it used to. Most of us don't get June, July and August off any more, and end up whiling away the majority of the season staring wistfully out the office window at that so-fleeting sunshine.

"Man of Steel," "The Great Gatsby," "World War Z" and "Monsters University" are among our picks for summer must-see movies.

But one of the perks of summer that Americans of all ages and job descriptions get is the summer movie season. Don't expect to see gritty, intense Oscar contenders on these long, hot days -- this is the time for pure popcorn, light and fluffy films with explosions and animation, superheroes and zombies. 

More than 60 movies will open over the course of the summer. Here are 11 you'll want to consider putting on your must-see list.

If you can only see ONE summer blockbuster, see 'Iron Man 3'
It's tough to imagine the "Iron Man" series without cocky, wisecracking Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. Who else could make Tony Stark/Iron Man the most fascinating superhero onscreen? Stark is super, sure, but he also has battled alcoholism and anxiety attacks, and his super-flubs are as intriguing as his big battles. Downey makes you buy into it for two-plus hours in "Iron Man 3," backed by a superb supporting cast, including Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Guy Pearce and Gwyneth Paltrow. Other films have their fans (we hear you, Trekkies!), but "Iron Man 3" might be the biggest summer blockbuster in a summer filled with them. (Opens May 3.)

If you're an English major, see 'The Great Gatsby'
If we made a list of the movies least likely to benefit from 3-D, "The Great Gatsby" would top that list. Hey! Guess what? Hollywood put it in 3-D anyway! It's supposed to give a more immersive experience, but really, can't F. Scott Fitzgerald's legendary characters and story do that on their own? But this latest rendition of "Gatsby" is going all out, with Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick and Carey Mulligan as Daisy. Aussie director Baz Luhrmann made "Moulin Rouge!" and "Romeo + Juliet," and both those films made waves for their style and panache. Traditionalists who want to see a straightforward march straight to the green light at the end of Daisy's dock may be clutching their knotted pearls when they see this one. (Opens May 10.)

If you're missing your friends from Starfleet Academy, see 'Star Trek Into Darkness'
Give the folks behind "Star Trek: Into Darkness" (and its 2009 predecessor, "Star Trek") huge props. Rebooting a series that was so beloved for so long without alienating devoted fans has to rank right up there with solving the Kobayashi Maru training exercise. And like a young James T. Kirk back in his school days, they somehow pulled it off. The rebooted movie series is a solid new take on Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest -- we especially love Simon "Shaun of the Dead" Pegg as Scotty. And as much as Trekkies love to dig for info, this film has managed to maintain a certain secrecy about the villain, played by Benedict Cumberbatch and named John Harrison. Is Harrison a version of the legendary baddie Khan? Or Gary Mitchell from the original series? Does it matter? We'll be there faster than a red-shirted ensign can say, "Look out, Capt--" (Opens May 17.)

If you like quirky growing-up tales, see 'The Kings of Summer'
It looks a little like "Stand By Me" with a more modern, sarcastic sensibility. "The Kings of Summer" was a Sundance hit. Three boys whose parents are driving them crazy build a house in the woods -- and a pretty decent one, too -- and leave civilzation behind. Or kind of. They may make occasional forays to a nearby Boston Market. In previews, the boys are charming and likable, and the parents include the fabulous Nick Offerman who reportedly all but steals the movie. We're guessing this will become a cult fave a la "Donnie Darko." (Opens May 31.) 

If you want to see Hollywood stars die horribly yet humorously, see 'This Is the End'
It's maybe the weirdest concept film of the summer. Hollywood stars play themselves having a big party at James Franco's house jut as the apocalypse -- complete with hellfire, crumbling earth, monsters and Rapture-style abductions -- comes to Los Angeles. Stars like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Craig Robinson react pretty much as any character they've ever played would react -- by running around like loons, fighting over the lone remaining Milky Way candy bar and getting robbed by Emma Watson. "Hermione stole all our (expletive)," announces Danny McBride. It could be awful, but based on the rapport of the leads, we're declaring it so silly it's might just be great. (Opens June 12.)

If you like your superheroes polite and clean-cut, see 'Man of Steel'
Iron Man's charming, but his personal problems could fill a therapist's file cabinet. Not so Superman. Sure, he and Lois Lane have issues, but Clark Kent/Superman is still the superhero you could safely bring home to Mom. That can mean he's ... kinda boring, and the trailers don't do much to dispel that, showing a young Clark saving a busload of schoolkids and angstily fretting about his place in the world.  One early review of the new "Man of Steel," however, claims that the trailer misrepresents things and Supes really kicks some butt in the movie. Some fans will always mourn Christopher Reeve, but new star Henry Cavil sure has the look down. We'll soon see if he can leap tall buildings in a single bound. (Opens June 14)

If you can't get enough zombies, see 'World War Z'
"The Walking Dead" is on break, but zombies will be chewing brains all over the big screen in "World War Z." Here's our concern: The film's based on Max Brooks' excellent book, which is told by a UN employee who traveled the world interviewing people of all nationalities about how the zombie uprising affected them. (If you know Studs Terkel's "The Good War," it's that but with the undead.) But the movie's trailer takes Brooks' title and turns it into a we've-seen-this-before action flick as Brad Pitt works to save his children and wife from the zombies. Yes, you can't judge a film by a 2-minute preview, but between the excellence we've become accustomed to on "Walking Dead" and Brooks' fine book, we have high expectations. Someone on this set better have kept their braaaaaaaaaains. (Opens June 21)

If you have a kid, or are a kid at heart, see 'Monsters University'
Not every sequel works, but "Monsters University," Pixar's prequel to its 2001 delight "Monsters Inc.," is positively inspired. Monsters Mike (voice of Billy Crystal) and Sulley (voice of John Goodman) were pals as co-workers in the original film, but when they met back in monster college, that wasn't the case. Bad for them, good for us, as we watch the dormmates fight it out (turns out Sulley sheds in his sleep) amid all the craziness of majoring in scaring. If this one doesn't entertain you, reassess your entertainment genes. (Opens June 21)

If you loved 'Bridesmaids,' see 'The Heat'
"The Heat" is a buddy-cop comedy with a twist -- the cops are women. And not just any women, but Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. Director Paul Feig not only directed "Bridesmaids," he created the legendary "Freaks and Geeks," which always makes our list of "shows that should never have been canceled." Bullock's best when she's funny (sorry, "Blind Side" fans) and McCarthy is on a roll, so this should be fun.  (June 28)

If you loved the Minions, see 'Despicable Me 2"
It's a great summer for kid movies.  In 2010's "Despicable Me," Steve Carell introduced us to Gru, a supervillain with a passel of little yellow pill-shaped Minions who gabble to each other in gibberish and engage in Three Stooges-style slapstick that's somehow cuter than normal coming from them. Gru seemed tough at first, but his heart quickly melted when he took in three orphan girls. He's back in the sequel, and the Anti-Villain League (with an agent voiced by Kristen Wiig) needs his help to take down another baddie. Thankfully, the Minions and the girls are along for the ride. If you can't get enough of the little yellow guys, another spinoff film, "Minions," is coming in 2014. (Opens July 3.)

If you loved 'Cars,' see 'Planes'
Get ready for "Planes" bedsheets, stuffed toys, video games, phone apps and lunchboxes, because if you thought "Cars" saturated the world of kids, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Disney's "Planes" takes the action to the air with comic Dane Cook voicing Dusty Crophopper, the little cropduster with big dreams. He's no Lightning McQueen, but with a little help from his friends -- and a few zillion kid viewers -- he might just soar high. (Opens Aug. 9.)

What movie are you most excited about? Tell us on Facebook.

The sports world was abuzz Monday after NBA center Jason Collins came out as the first openly gay professional athlete in a major sport. He may be alone in the NBA, but Collins has plenty of company in the celebrity world. Some stars have taken the route Collins did -- a major magazine cover -- but others have approached the announcement in different ways. Here's a look back.

Getty Images file

Jodie Foster, Jim Nabors and Ellen DeGeneres all found very different ways to announce the news of their sexuality.

Bisexuality hedge
Collins may be the first member of a major pro team to come out, but he's not the first gay athlete to speak about his or her sexuality -- not by a long shot. One of the most famous is tennis star Martina Navratilova. The star told The Tennis Channel that her sport kept her in the closet in 1980, fearing scandal. "Here I leave Czechoslovakia so I can be free, and I can't come out because of sponsors, I can't come out because my girlfriend is in the closet ... it was a mess," Navratilova said. So instead Navratilova said she was bisexual, scandal enough in those days.

TIME

In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres was one of the first celebrities to come out on a major magazine cover.

Cover girl
It was Ellen DeGeneres who started the whole magazine-cover coming out with her 1997 Time magazine cover and its famous headline, "Yep, I'm Gay." It was a brave move, and one that hurt DeGeneres' career for years after the announcement, the Human Rights Campaign reports. At the time, DeGeneres was also starring on her own sitcom, "Ellen," and the character she played also came out as gay that week. Oprah Winfrey played the therapist that the TV Ellen came out to, and later told The Hollywood Reporter that merely for playing that role, she received hate mail and threatening phone calls that included racial slurs.

Thoughtful and serious
As the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, privacy was almost always impossible for Anderson Cooper. The journalist said he tried to keep his private life private, especially since he often traveled to war zones where he wanted to "blend in" for safety. But in July 2012, Cooper came out in an email he allowed The Daily Beast to publish. "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be," Cooper wrote. "And I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud."

The non-coming out coming out
So what exactly did Jodie Foster say in her famed 2013 Golden Globes speech? "I hope you’re not disappointed that there won’t be a big coming-out speech tonight, because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago," the actress and former child star told an audience of millions. She did? Most fans didn't recall a public coming out from Foster but she obviously wasn't ready to call this one either. She did, however, thank her former partner Cydney Bernard, calling her "one of the deepest loves of my life, my heroic co-parent, my ex-partner in love but righteous soul sister in life." So ... she's out then?

Bury it in the New York Times
Jim Parsons is best known as nerdy Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory," but it was a Broadway show that spurred his announcement.  Parsons was profiled in the New York Times in May of 2012, and deep within the story was one line: "Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship." The line made sense in context -- Parsons was playing a gay character in the play "The Normal Heart" -- but the information about the play was all but lost in the media buzz over Parsons' personal revelation.

AP file

Jim Nabors, seen here in 1966 on "Gomer Pyle," announced his sexuality by marrying his male partner in Seattle in 2013.

Did I mention I'm married?
Goll--ee! Jim Nabors, beloved as Gomer Pyle on the 1960s sitcom, let his wedding do the talking for him. In January 2013, Nabors married his longtime partner Stan Cadwallader at a fancy Seattle hotel. "We've been together for 38 years, and I'm not ashamed of people knowing, it's just that it was such a personal thing, I didn't tell anybody," Nabors told a Hawaii newspaper. The actor was 82 when he wed and has been with Cadwallader for 38 years.

Meet my baby
Nabors' news was delivered due to a wedding, but "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken came out due to another happy life event -- he became a father. In 2008, Aiken had a son via in vitro fertilization, and the boy's birth inspired him. "It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken told People magazine. 

Related content:

• Veteran NBA center Jason Collins comes out as gay
• NBA commissioner issues statement supporting Collins
• Ex-teammates, fans react to Collins news

WMBF

"Welcome to Myrtle Manor" stars Lindsay Colbert (right) and Taylor Burt.

Over the course of three days, three of the stars from the docu-series "Welcome to Myrtle Manor" were welcomed to South Carolina's Myrtle Beach Jail.

It all started in the early hours of Friday morning. That's when Amanda Adams, identified on the show's website as a "turtle hunting, four wheel driving redneck," was arrested for driving under the influence.

Officers were responding to a call about a single-vehicle collision when they found Adams' damaged Jeep Wrangler next to a downed electric pole. According to a report from the Myrtle Beach Police Department, when officers asked the 26-year-old how much she'd had to drink, she told them she'd consumed three beers and one shot, though later she added three more shots to that tally.

Her blood alcohol level was .20 -- .08 is the legal limit in South Carolina.

There was more trouble on Saturday night as Taylor Burt, known as "the king of Myrtle Beach nightlife" on the TLC series, was arrested for having sex with a minor under the age of 16.

According to the police report, a 15-year-old and her mother made the allegations against Burt, 28, on Friday. The girl went on to get physical exam at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.

No further details have been made available about Burt's arrest.

But the brushes with the law continued on Sunday, with the latest incident involving 21-year-old Lindsay Colbert.

A Myrtle Beach police report reveals that Colbert was arrested for driving under the influence -- with a blood alcohol level above .15 -- and speeding.

A separate incident report described Adams' behavior as "an emotional rollercoaster throughout the procedure" and said the reality star asked the arresting officer, "Are you giving me (expletive) 'cause I am on the show?"

She was also said to have made racial slurs toward the officer.

TODAY.com reached to TLC about the arrests, but the network had no comment.

Peter Kramer / AP file

Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher and Angus T. Jones in 2011. Jones isn't listed as a regular cast member on the show's upcoming season.

When CBS's hit sitcom "Two and a Half Men" returns this fall, the show will be half a man down. CBS announced Friday that though the show -- and actors Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher -- will be returning for an eleventh season, child star Angus T. Jones will not be signing on as a regular cast member. 

Jones, 19, could reportedly return to the series periodically as a recurring character, however, Deadline.com reports. Both Kutcher and Cryer have signed on for one-year contracts for the series.

PHOTOS: Angus kisses Miley Cyrus on Men

A source tells Us Weekly that one of the reasons Jones will not be returning is because his interests now lie elsewhere: Music.

"They tried really hard to keep him, but he was just done done," the source said, adding that the young actor is interested in "Skrillex style" tracks specifically.

VIDEO: Charlie Sheen rants about show creator Chuck Lorre

Jones made headlines in November 2012 when he released a YouTube video slamming "Men" and calling the show "filth," asking viewers to "please stop watching." Shortly after the video went viral on the Internet, Jones came forward to apologize for his harsh words, offering a mea culpa to the cast and crew.

The actor apologized for "showing indifference and disrespect of my colleagues and a lack of appreciation of the extraordinary opportunity of which I have been blessed." 

PHOTOS: Stars on set

In January 2013, CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler told reporters that she accepted the apology and was looking forward to having Jones back on the show. "The kid is 19 years old. I've got a 24-year-old," she said. "Between the ages of 19 and 24, there's been plenty of things my kid has said that I wish he hadn't. The bottom line is that cooler heads prevailed."

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Related content:

• January: CBS wants Angus T. Jones back
• November: Sheen invites Jones to join 'Anger Management'

Yo, Broadway! Look out: It's almost time for "Rocky" the musical to get into the ring!

A musical interpretation of the Oscar-nominated film from 1976 has been in the works for some time, and in just under a year it's set to premiere in New York City (it opened in Hamburg, Germany, last fall). And for those who've wondered just what it would be like to hear the Italian Stallion (alas, not played by Sylvester Stallone) emote alongside mousy Adrian, a first-look trailer offers a peep into the big pumping heart of the underdog boxer.

"The story of Rocky was very much like my life at the time -- starting out with nothing, having to fight for roles and recognition," says producer Stallone in the short preview. "So I put those feelings into the body of a boxer and I had no idea there were so many millions of people that felt the same way."

Hopefully, at least a fraction of those millions turn out for the show. "Rocky" opens in February, 2014. Check out the clip!

Related content:

• 'Rocky, The Musical' is here to calm a troubled nation

"Pain & Gain," a dark action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, muscled to the top of weekend box office charts with an estimated $20 million in U.S. and Canadian tickets sales.

Mark Fellman / Paramount via AP

Dwayne Johnson as Paul Doyle, left, Mark Wahlberg as Daniel Lugo, center, and Anthony Mackie as Adrian Doorbal in the film, "Pain and Gain."

The movie about bodybuilders on a crime spree knocked Tom Cruise's sci-fi thriller "Oblivion" into second place. The post-apocalyptic drama pulled in $17.4 million, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.

Baseball drama "42" took the No. 3 slot with sales of $10.7 million from Friday through Sunday. The movie tells the story of Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball's first black player.

Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc, released "Pain & Gain." Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp distributed "Oblivion" and Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros released "42."

Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

Actor Jeffrey Wright attends the Tribeca Film Festival 2013 after party for "A Single Shot" on April 26 in New York City.

It's safe to say Jeffrey Wright's weekend didn't get off to the best start. The 47-year-old "Hunger Games: Catching Fire"  actor was busted for DWAI (driving while ability impaired) in New York City early Saturday morning, E! News has confirmed.

Catching Fire casting: Jeffrey Wright wires into Hunger Games sequel

According to the NYPD, officers pulled Wright over after they saw him driving erratically, and detected an alcohol odor coming from his vehicle.

Wright was arrested after officers conducted a field sobriety test and he failed it.

The thesp, known for his roles in "Casino Royale" and "Angels in America," will play Beetee in the second installment of the "Hunger Games"  franchise.

The film is set to hit theaters Nov. 22.

Jeffrey Wright isn't the only star that's gotten into trouble. Check out our gallery.

Politics and Hollywood mingle on a cordial basis most days of the year. But on the night of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, the gloves come off. On Saturday night, both President Barack Obama and comedian Conan O'Brien took to the dais at the "nerd prom" -- and each took a very different approach to making the room laugh ... and blush.

Here are some of the most memorable moments:

Winning!
President Obama kicked things off in high style by heading up to the microphone to the strains of DJ Khaled's rap song"All I Do Is Win." "How do you like my new entrance music?" he asked the crowd, putting on a little 'tude. "Rush Limbaugh warned you about this. Second term, baby."

'Obama,' the movie
President Obama played up his Hollywood connections with the help of Steven Spielberg. The President told the crowd that the "Lincoln" director's next project would be another presidential biopic: "Obama." "Why wait?" said the director (who was also in the audience) in a taped video piece about his follow-up to the Oscar-winning "Lincoln." And since "Lincoln's" star Daniel Day-Lewis went over so well, he was going to cast Lewis in the key role. Cut to President Obama pretending to be Daniel Day-Lewis pretending to be President Obama. "The hardest part? Trying to understand his motivations," said Obama-as-Lewis-as-Obama. Another interesting "casting" choice: "30 Rock's" Tracy Morgan as Vice President Joe Biden. We'd watch that.

That's entertainment
The president showed he clearly has his finger on the pulse of all kinds of entertainment, referring to Jimmy Fallon's upcoming "Tonight Show" ascension and the recent kerfuffle over Beyonce and Jay-Z's trip to Cuba ("I've got 99 problems and now Jay-Z's one"). He also noted that no one from The History Channel was in attendance: "I guess they were embarrassed by the whole 'Obama is a devil' thing," he said, referring to the appearance of Satan in History's "The Bible" miniseries, and how the actor who played him seemed to resemble the president. 

Zing!
Conan O'Brien used his 15 minutes to zap his way through as many topics as possible, with as many one- or two-line zingers as he could manage:

• "Since (Obama's) being elected, the number of Popes has doubled, and the number of 'Tonight Show' hosts has tripled!"
• After noting that members of the cast of "Duck Dynasty" were in the audience: "That means the guys from 'Storage Wars' said 'no.'"
• And he wrapped up by proposing another made-for-TV movie -- this time a miniseries -- starring many um, familiar faces playing the president's team and colleagues. Suggestions? Vice President Joe Biden played by Bob Barker, Rep. Paul Ryan played by Mr. Bean (a character created by Rowan Atkinson) and Sen. Harry Reid "played by the old man from the 'American Gothic' painting.'" We still think Morgan's the better choice for Biden, though.

Kudos for Beantown
Casting the inevitable Obama administration movie aside, the one area the two speakers did overlap on and grow serious about was the way in which the citizens of Boston have shown their strength in adversity following the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15. Boston native O'Brien noted he had relatives in nearby Watertown, and he thanked the president for his support of the city. "It's been said recently that you don't mess with Boston," said O'Brien. "As someone who grew up there, I'd like to echo that sentiment. It's really pretty simple: If you're going to pick on a city, don't choose one where nine out of every 10 people are related to a cop."

Related content:

• Video: Washington goes Hollywood at White House Correspondents' Dinner
• Conan O'Brien gets 'goofy' at White House ahead of Correspondents' Dinner
• Video: Best of Obama at Correspondents' Dinner