Perhaps to halt his dizzying fall from grace, cyclist Lance Armstrongsat down with America's de facto confessor, Oprah Winfrey, for a two-part, no-holds-barred interview, the first part of which aired Thursday night on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

Oprah earned high marks for her tough-but-polite interrogation, getting Armstrong to clearly admit he took a "cocktail" of banned performance-enhancing drugs to win his big races, and the interview was a rare ratings win for her struggling cable network — the query "what channel is OWN" reportedly spiked on Google Thursday evening.

But Armstrong's performance didn't exactly placate his critics. And with Armstrong, everyone is a critic. Here, five ways he botched his big national shot at the beginning of redemption.

1. Armstrong flunked the sincerity test

After watching Lance come clean — "Kinda. Sorta" — to Oprah, and the world, "I feel sad," says Kirk Bohls at the Austin American-Statesman. How does Armstrong feel? Who knows? He "came off as cold and calculating," lacking in sincerity, "glib at inappropriate times, downright evasive at others," and in general seemed "as much a machine as the bicycle he rode for so long."

Apparently, "Armstrong treated his confession with Winfrey as yet another competition," but he "didn't come close to the yellow jersey" this time.

Floyd Landis, bearded, shabby, paunchy--persuasive when confessing. Armstrong--cut, groomed--not.

— David Plotz (@davidplotz) January 18, 2013

Armstrong was looking for more than forgiveness, though — he wants to return to competing in triathlons and other sports he's banned from now, and "anti-doping rules permit officials to ease penalties for athletes who display contrition and offer substantial cooperation," say Christian Red and Michael O'Keeffe at the New York Daily News.

Unfortunately for Lance, "his guarded and unpersuasive performance is unlikely to convince officials to rescind his lifetime ban from sports."

Oprah"s good. Armstrong playing rope-a-dope and it's not working. He doesn't sound remorseful. Sounds like he's reading a script

— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) January 18, 2013

We won't see any tears tonight or tomorrow from Armstrong. Would be unbecoming, in part because of his lack of contrition.

— david carr (@carr2n) January 18, 2013

Everyone laughs about the trope of crying on Oprah, but smiling nervously through the hailstorm of questions doesn't work so good.

— david carr (@carr2n) January 18, 2013

2. He was weaselly with the word "cheat"

Armstrong confessed to using the performance-enhancing drug EPO, testosterone, and blood transfusions to win his seven Tour de France races — in fact, he said he couldn't have won without them — but he said he didn't consider it cheating. He admitted that this lack of awareness and remorse was the "scariest" part of his doping days, but then he tried to explain it away:

I had this exercise because I kept hearing I'm a drug cheat. I'm a cheat. I'm a cheater.... And I went in and just looked up the definition of cheat.... And the definition of cheat is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe that they don't have. I didn't view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field.

No, Lance. The definition of a cheat is to break the rules. Quaint idea, I know. #AskLance

— Lionel Birnie (@lioneljbirnie) January 18, 2013

And as for the "level playing field" claim, says Robert Mackey at The New York Times, a former teammate has said that "Armstrong was dedicated to doping in more sophisticated ways than his rivals and made sure to sign exclusive deals with the best doping doctors in the sport."

3. He said, implausibly, that he stopped doping in 2005

While Armstrong acknowledged that he had doped his way to his seven Tour de France victories, he insisted that he quit cold turkey after his last win, in 2005, and was clean during his 2009-10 comeback. That raised some skeptical eyebrows.

Lance, paraphrased: I lied for more than a decade, but believe me, I'm telling the truth about 2009 and 2010. ... Yeah, that'll work.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 18, 2013

His claim about a clean comeback "is a direct attack on the credibility of the USADA [U.S. Anti-Doping Agency] report, which maintains that blood samples from those years indeed suggest he continued to use banned substances," note Red and O'Keeffe at the Daily News. And it also makes one wonder why he continued to give payments to his trainer, "Michele Ferrari, the Italian sports doctor who famously said taking EPO was as safe as drinking orange juice?" says Juliet Macur at The New York Times.

Not everyone thinks he's lying about this one, though:

That makes sense to me... i always thought Armstorng came back in 2009 to see if he could win clean.

— Henry Blodget (@hblodget) January 18, 2013

Even if Armstrong's "hard-to-believe claim is true, it is a sad revelation for cycling fans," says Josh Voorhees at Slate. It would mean that a 37-year-old, drug-free Lance came in third in the Tour de France ahead of "at least a handful of other elite cyclists who themselves were later found to have doped — an alleged accomplishment that would raise further questions about his claim that he needed to use PEDs in his prime in order to compete in a culture of doping."

Regardless:

His ledge is that he won the 2009 Tour clean. That's the ledge he is going to try to use to build his future on.

— david carr (@carr2n) January 18, 2013

4. He refused to believably apologize to the people he bullied

Many of the people who tuned in Thursday night were not waiting to hear "an admission of doping — that was stipulated from the start — but a specific apology for the lives he ruined in order to keep his secret a secret," says David Carr at The New York Times.

They didn't get that. He said he'd tried to reach out to Emma O'Reilly, a former team masseuse he called a prostitute and alcoholic after she suggested he used banned substances, and former best friend Frankie Andreu and his wife, Betsy.

But he made an awkward joke about how he'd called Betsy Andreu "crazy" but never "fat," and when Oprah pointed out that he sued O'Reilly, Armstrong said, "To be honest, Oprah, we sued so many people... I'm sure we did." More than the doping, what people in the cycling community hate about Armstrong is "his willingness to destroy others to protect himself."

Oprah teed Lance up for a full apology to the Andreus and Emma O'Reilly and he passed. Just passed.Amazing.

— Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) January 18, 2013

Armstrong did acknowledge "being a bully, but he has yet to say he was sorry to most of the people he victimized," says Carr. "Perhaps that is something that will be dealt with in the second part of the interview," airing on Friday.

Of course he owes the people he defamed and sued an apology, says The Times' Macur, but Armstrong also "failed to apologize directly to all the people who believed in him, all the cancer survivors and cycling fans who thought his fairy-tale story was true."

Lance is the least sympathetic apologizer possible. I feel ZERO empathy with him.

— The Fix (@TheFix) January 18, 2013

The irony is that all the people Armstrong sued have a pretty rock solid defamation claim to throw right back at him now.

— Anthony De Rosa (@AntDeRosa) January 18, 2013

The legal rumbling has already started — SCA Promotions says it will sue Armstrong if he doesn't pay them back a $12 million bonus from his 2004 Tour de France win — and there are plenty of defamation suits looming on the horizon, law professor Geoffrey Rapp tells Reuters. "He wronged these people. Some of them may have hesitated to go after him when he was denying it and had the resources to defend the lawsuit," but now they'll pounce, and Armstrong will probably settle out of court.

"There are lawyers across the country representing various interests who are recording that interview," former federal prosecutor Matt Orwig tells Reuters. "From a legal perspective, his issues are becoming more difficult, not less." Yes, "supposedly he has a hundred million dollars," says CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. "He's going to have a lot less than a hundred million dollars when this is all over."

Still, not everyone was so down on Armstrong: "I think he was clear, straight-forward, uncomfortable because who would be comfortable," anti-doping scientist Don Catlin tells USA Today. "He's not going to satisfy USADA and WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency], but he did what he had to do. He said he was a bully.... For an hour-and-a-half, he took it." He also admitted he is a "jerk and humanitarian," an "arrogant prick," a jerk, and other relatively self-aware assessments, says Macur at The New York Times. "That takes some guts to say to millions of people tuning in." And, let's admit it, he provided 90 minutes of good TV.

When someone lives about the law, watching them come to grips with reality is always going to be compelling.

— david carr (@carr2n) January 18, 2013

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Last night when Lance Armstrongconfessed to Oprah about doping, all the world was watching including Hollywood. 

Naturally, celebrities – and Donald Trump– took to Twitter both scolding Armstrong and praising Oprah. 

However, not everyone threw down the hammer on Armstrong. One former reality star came to his defense.

Many pulled the cyclist apart:

Great day for liars! They are dominating the news today. #CongratsUSA

— Rashida Jones (@iamrashidajones) January 18, 2013 

Lance Armstrong did himself great harm last night. Lawsuits & failure will follow him!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2013

Wow what a great 1st 20 mins to #Oprahinterview with Lance. He is a cheater and liar. I'm embarrassed that I was such a fan for so long.

— Carson Daly (@CarsonDaly) January 18, 2013

And, zing:

Others were impressed with how Oprah handled the interview:

Well, not everyone:

Or, the fact that the interview is being spread over two nights:

After night one of the two-part interview, not everyone was upset with Armstrong:

SEE ALSO: The 12 craziest things celebrities have confessed to Oprah >

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The days to get a "Django Unchained" character doll are officially numbered. 

TMZ reports distributor National Entertainment Collectibles Association shut down production on the controversial figures after groups including Al Sharpton's National Action Network and Project Islamic Hope boycotted the dolls.  

Both said the dolls were "highly offensive" to the African American community and trivialized "the horrors of slavery."  

According to TMZ, "Django Unchained" producers The Weinstein Company asked for the toys to be shelved.  

Six dolls in all were put out on the market ranging from Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio's likenesses of respective lead characters Django and Calvin Candie. 

Only about 1,000 of the dolls have been released and were intended for ages 15 and up. Each doll was priced near $30.  

Since word of controversy began, some of the dolls have already spiked up to more than $200 on Amazon.  

Though this probably won't become the next cabbage patch crisis, in case you want to get your hands on one of the dolls, we've found all six of available for purchase and bidding on Amazon and eBay: 

Butch Pooch (James Remar): $29.99
Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio): $30.00
Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz): $39.99
Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson): $39.99
Django (Jamie Foxx): $79.99
Broomhilda (Kerry Washington): $255.00 

SEE ALSO: How Sally Field gained 25 pounds for her role in "Lincoln" >

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The numbers for Oprah's anticipated first interview with Lance Armstrong are out, and they didn't break any records.

3.1 million viewers tuned in for part one of Armstrong's interview Thursday night. 

The number was still less than Oprah's first interview with Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina which had 3.5 million viewers in March. 

Back-to-back telecasts of the interview earned 4.3 million views.

The interview did gain more than Oprah's interview with Rihanna in August which had 2.4 million viewers.

Armstrong's interview on OWN was the first part of a two-night interview concluding tonight.

SEE ALSO: 12 craziest things celebrities have confessed to Oprah >

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Hollywood’s latest starlet is gazing enigmatically into the camera lens with her huge melting brown eyes, framed with lashes long enough to catch snowflakes. She radiates an air of serenity amid the flashbulbs and satellite dishes and is the very epitome of poise – until an enormous rough pink tongue emerges from the side of her mouth and flicks into her nostril.

“This is Ration, she’s our Red Carpet Cow,” says her owner, East Sussex dairy farmer Steve Hook, as he massages her neck. “A handful of cow nuts and you can do anything you like with her.”

That pretty much makes her every director’s dream, but she won’t be accompanying him to Sundance Film Festival this weekend, where her screen debut – The Moo Man – has been chosen to compete in the prestigious World Cinema category.

The Moo Man is ostensibly a documentary about Longleys Farm, Hailsham, where Steve and his father, Phil, have turned around their loss-making dairy business by thumbing their noses at the supermarket big boys and marketing and selling their own raw, unpasteurised and organic milk.

But this fascinating, unsentimental yet tender film is much more than a classic David-and-Goliath clash of values; it is a moving portrait of the ancient relationship between a farmer and his animals, set against a backdrop of changing seasons, changing fortunes, birth, death and, of course, milk. Gallons and gallons of the white stuff.

Hook, 47, and his wife Claire have four sons aged 12 to 20. Not so long ago, the future of their inheritance looked decidedly bleak.

“We converted to organic milk in 2000 because back then there was a 10p premium on every litre,” says Hook. “As we use traditional methods on the farm already, it was a natural step. But then milk prices – organic and standard – fell away and we were being paid below the cost of production, which was completely untenable.”

For five years Hook struggled to stay afloat, relying on family tax credits to meet his bills. Then he took the risky decision to cut himself adrift and sell his milk, cream and butter direct to the public. Moreover, his USP would be that the milk was raw and unpasteurised, something that’s not available through large retailers as, for legal reasons, it can only be sold by the farm that produces it.

“Raw milk is an entirely different product from the homogenised stuff you buy,” says Hook. “It’s full of health-giving properties that make it more valuable, and people are willing to pay more.”

An ordinary pint of milk costs from 25p to 45p. A pint of Hook’s finest fetches anything from £1 to £2; much of it is sold via the internet and dispatched, by courier, in insulated boxes to addresses across the country.

In February 2010, Hook was sending out 700 pints of Hook & Son a week. By 2013, that figure has risen to 3,500 pints, enabling him to employ six full-time and eight part-time staff, and reinvest in the farm.

Unpasteurised milk is creamier and has a more distinctive, “milky” taste than the pasteurised version, but there are other reasons for its resurgence.

“Raw milk lowers 'bad’ cholesterol and can be drunk by people who are lactose-intolerant because it contains active enzymes,” says Hook. “There is also evidence it effectively treats asthma, hay fever and eczema.”

It was this health dimension that drew local documentary makers Andy Heathcote and Heike Bachelier to the farm. They had been ordering the milk from their delivery man and were so astonished when it successfully treated their eczema that they were keen to know more.

“Something else we found funny and intriguing were the little anecdotes and pictures of cows featured on the milk bottles and on the website,” says German-born Bachelier. “I had never thought about the process by which milk gets from the animal to me and I initially thought it was odd to claim cows had their own personalities and idiosyncrasies.”

She was rapidly disabused of the notion that all cows are identical, not least by the film’s leading lady, Ida, aged 12, who steals the show.

The average lifespan of a dairy cow is six years, but Hook’s cows live at least 10 years, a testament to high welfare standards and the fact they aren’t stressed by overmilking.

As befits a grande dame of any species, Ida comes across as bold, opinionated and happiest when centre-stage. There is footage of Steve taking her to the beach at Eastbourne to drum up publicity, only to discover she likes it so much she refuses to leave. Little wonder, then, that her story arc rivals that of Anna Karenina.

And so what began as a fly-on-the-milking-parlour-partition look at Hook’s business – of 10,000 dairy farmers in Britain, only 100 or so sell raw, unpasteurised milk – became a rather more reflective, even spiritual, examination of the dynamic between man and beast.

There’s Clever Kate, a born escapologist able to find a hole in even the best-maintained of fences. Jill is prone to get a bit antsy and kick out; Rowena is highly prized for her superior butterfat milk; and Kitty is loved no less for her friendly nature.

For to call the bond Steve has with all 70 of his pedigree Holstein Friesians love is no exaggeration. Far from it.

“I love my animals,” he says simply. “I rear them from calves, I watch them thrive and grow. I milk them, watch over them and I respect them.

“Cows have a great dignity about them; they’re noble and graceful and very expressive. They will shake their heads if they’re fed up with you or push their foreheads into you, nudging you to do more of what you’re doing.”

To her credit, Ration – nobody can recall why she’s called that – is still obligingly showing off her best side out front. She is heavily pregnant, which bodes well for the future herd.

But back in a pen behind the barn, where the animals are wintered, a lone cow stands over a lifeless calf, endlessly licking its cold body. The calf died in utero and was “born” earlier in the day – hauled out of its mother with a rope by Hook. He has left her the body so she can come to terms with the loss; she licks and licks, trying to stir her offspring, refusing to eat or to drink. No-one could doubt that she is grieving.

Meanwhile, the cycle of nature continues around her; fat hens scratch in the silage, the farm cat slinks by, the twice daily ritual of milking begins.

In a few days, Steve Hook and his father will be at Sundance, where their quietly profound story will vie for attention among performances by Hollywood A-listers such as Ashton Kutcher and Scarlett Johansson.

The farmers been invited to brunch with festival founder Robert Redford. It’s a fair bet they will raise a toast to The Moo Man. Let’s hope it is with a glass of raw, unpasteurised milk.

hookandson.co.uk

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If tomorrow's new release Mama— in which two adopted children are beset by a malevolent creature they call Mama — sounds familiar, it may be because you first encountered the film in its original three-minute short form when it was released in 2008. (Watch the original short version of Mama below.)

On the strength of the three-minute version, Guillermo del Toro (of Pan's Labyrinth fame) tapped director Andres Muschietti to expand the short into a full-length film of the same name. But Muschietti is hardly the first director to cut his teeth on self-produced shorts before moving up to a big directing gig. Here, 12 early short films by famous Hollywood directors.

Keep reading at The Week >

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It's difficult to tell how tall a movie or TV star actually is from just seeing them on the big screen.

Earlier, we gave you a look at some of the shortest stars in Hollywood.

Now, here are the ones who rise above the others.

Model Brooke Shields is an even 6 feet tall and Khloe Kardashian stands higher than her sisters -- see who else makes the list.

At 5'10," Charlize Theron is much taller than her "Prometheus" cast mates.

5'10" Blake Lively is just about as tall as her "Savages" cast mates, including John Travolta.

Khloe Kardashian's 5’10” stature makes her much taller then sisters Kim and Kourtney who barely break 5 feet.

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• Lindsay Lohan reportedly rejected a $550K offer to appear on the upcoming season of "Dancing With The Stars" because the actress doesn't want to do reality TV -- despite owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
• Alicia Keysdocumented the inauguration through her own personal photos. Check them out here >
• Relativity Media has purchased the distribution rights to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut "Don Jon's Addiction," which he also wrote and stars in, at Sundance. The film, featuring Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Channing Tatum, and Anne Hathaway, reportedly sold for about $4 million and will premiere on about 2,000 screens this summer.
• Chinese censors cut 40 minutes off "Cloud Atlas."
• Barbara Walters is hospitalized after the 83-year-old fell on a stair and cut open her forehead while visiting the Washington, D.C. home of the British Ambassador.
• Following inLance Armstrong's footsteps, Drew Barrymoresat down with Oprah Winfrey to talk about her wild past on Sunday’s episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter." Asked what she’ll tell her daughter about her past drug use, bisexuality and two short-lived marriages, the actress said, “I will try to instill in her that I did not have guidance, and that is why I lived my life that way.”
• Rihannaleft a $200 tip on an $80 bill at the Laugh Factory comedy club where she was watching Dane Cook with six friends. When the bill came, Rihanna asked her waiter what the biggest tip he ever received was -- he said $100, so the singer slapped $200 into his hand and replied, "Now I'm your biggest tip."
• 51-year-old "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Adrienne Maloofis dating Rod Stewart's 32-year-old son and "Celebrity Rehab" star, Sean Stewart. The recently divorced Maloof says of the new relationship, "Age is just a number."

SEE ALSO: 'Mama' Terminates Arnold's 'Last Stand' at this weekend's box office >

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Celebrities ranging from Joan RIvers to Donald Trump have already tweeted their reactions to Lance Armstrong's doping confession to Oprah, but for the first time since the groundbreaking interview, Armstrong's former fiancé Sheryl Crow has broken her silence.

“I think that honesty is always the best bet and that the truth will set you free,” Crow told “Entertainment Tonight” in an interview set to air Tuesday.

“It’s got to be really hard to walk around knowing that you’re not telling the truth about something," added the singer.

Crow and Armstrong dated in 2003, got engaged in 2005 and broke up in 2006. 

At the time, Armstrong said it was the singer's desire for a baby that ended the relationship.

“She wanted marriage, she wanted children; and not that I didn’t want that, but I didn’t want that at that time because I had just gotten out of a marriage, I’d just had kids,” Armstrong wrote in his book "Lance." “Yet we’re up against her biological clock — that pressure is what cracked it ... we were not compatible on that issue.”

While Crow says she only caught “bits and pieces” of Armstrong’s interview last week, see what she thought of it below:

According to Celebuzz, Crow was named in affidavits submitted to the agency last year.

The singer was allegedly present when Armstrong's teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife, Betsy, were asked to deny that Armstrong had admitted to doctors in 1996 that he was using performance-enhancing drugs.

“His girlfriend at the time, Sheryl Crow, was in the room and I felt uncomfortable talking about this in front of her so I did not say much,” Celebuzz reports Frankie Andreu said in the signed affidavit.

Last year, Crow told Katie Couric, “I felt bad for [Armstrong], I felt bad for his family and I kinda felt like the rest of America.”

SEE ALSO: Celebrities tore Lance Armstrong's Oprah interview apart on Twitter >

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In this satire of an ad for Verismo, the at-home Starbucks coffee machine, a nice white lady expectantly asks the Verismo for a latte and gets a pile of sodden wooden sticks and sugar packets scattered about her kitchen in return. It's funny enough. But the folks at Gothamist note that both malfunctioning machines in the skit have African American accents. And the female machine is called "Verquonica," has huge dangly gold earrings, and a Venti attitude. Hmm.

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As he winds down his four-month combat deployment to Camp Bastion, Prince Harry is speaking out for the first time about killing insurgents in Afghanistan, Kate Middleton's pregnancy and those risqué naked party photos.

Of the nude photo scandal in Las Vegas, the 28-year-old royal told reporters, “I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down.”

"It was probably a classic example of me probably being too much army, and not enough prince. It's a simple case of that," he said during an interview at his military base in Afghanistan.

"But at the end of the day I was in a private area and there should be a certain amount of privacy that one should expect," he added. "Back home all my close friends rallied round me and were great."

But as for all of the media frenzy surrounding his life, Harry says "the way I was treated by them I don’t think is acceptable.”

The high profile royal added that he felt it was “very unfair” that his brother Prince William and Kate Middleton were “forced to publicize” her pregnancy, “but that’s just the media for you.”

Still, the future uncle noted that he’s “thrilled for both of them.”

And as his stint as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner comes to an end, Prince Harry even revealed he’s personally had to shoot at Taliban insurgents during his four-month deployment.

“Take a life to save a life… Everyone’s fired a certain amount," he stated. "If there’s people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game."

“My father’s always trying to remind me about who I am and stuff like that. But it’s very easy to forget about who I am when I am in the army,” says Harry. “Everyone’s wearing the same uniform and doing the same kind of thing. I get on well with the lads and I enjoy my job. It really is as simple as that.”

SEE ALSO: Here's what Prince William & Kate Middleton are looking for in a new servant >

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Yahoo! News asked several poets to write poetry for the president's Inauguration Day. 

Among those commissioned were two Pulitzer Prize winners, authors Brenda Shaughnessy and Kevin Young, and ... James Franco.

Yes, the 34-year-old actor was asked to write and perform an inaugural poem for the president because he "has a book of poetry forthcoming from Graywolf Press."

And, it's just strange.

The poem comes across as if he couldn't be bothered to do the thing. 

He says several times how little he cares for "political crap" and confesses how strange it seems to have been asked to put together a piece:

"I’m not up there, but Obama is. I was asked to write something For the inauguration of his second term, but what could I write? I was in Asheville, studying writing, but not the political sort; I write confessions and characters, and that sort of thing."

And, unlike two other poets, Kevin Young and Paul Muldoon, Franco looks like he's ready for bed, slouching sideways while delivering his poem via what looks like a self-rendered YouTube video in a dim-lit room.

After nine stanzas filibustering with Fitzgerald's suicide, asking a friend what to write, and a pit stop at a "little burrito place," Franco recounts a time he and Obama met at the Correspondents' Dinner in D.C. and how the president recognized him from "Spider-Man."

In the last three stanzas, the poem becomes less about Obama and more about Franco when he conjectures that if he were to ever play the role of POTUS in a film, he would win the Academy Award hands down. 

The entirety sounds more like a stream-of-consciousness exercise rather than a planned out ode to the president's second term.

Here are two excerpts from the poem entitled "Obama in Asheville":

Franco's dilemma of what to write for the president:

"I’m not up there, but Obama is. I was asked to write something
For the inauguration of his second term, but what could I write?
I was in Asheville, studying writing, but not the political sort;
I write confessions and characters, and that sort of thing.

I wrote my friend Frank about what I could do, but he was unresponsive.
I went to class and then the little burrito place where they know me,
And finally at night I got Frank’s email on my phone and pulled over
On the side of Warren Wilson Road, past the school barn with the WWC --

That I couldn’t see in the dark -- right before the school entrance;
A little spot where there’s a path that leads to a lake called Snake Lake.
First I called my class at UCLA, and told them to watch Apocalypse Now,
And that it used Heart of Darkness as a model, and that we’d watch

Eleanor Coppola’s Hearts of Darkness, the making-of, the following week.
Then I read Frank’s note. He said he was sleeping twenty hours a day,
With no symptoms except that he desired sleep
And just a little more sleep. He’s in his seventies.

Then he said that my poem was a difficult task.
How to write about a man written about endlessly;
A man whom everyone has some sort of experience of;
How to write so that it’s not just for the converted."

Where Franco discusses playing Obama in an Academy Award winning movie:

"If I were to act in the film about Obama,
All I would need to get down, aside from the outer stuff—
And I know that’s important—is his essential kindness,
I’d let the writer put in all the political crap,

And the specific things that he was up against,
All that stuff on CNN and the Huffington Post,
And I’d say the lines that were written, just like Obama
Reads his lines, but what would really put the role over

Would be the goodness at its core.
That’s what will be remembered.
Yes, his race, no one will forget. But the soul too.
I’d win the Academy Award if I just captured that."

SEE ALSO: "Mama" terminates Arnold's "Last Stand" at theaters this weekend >

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The ad business uses a lot of models, but not every model is a "super" model. Some castings require quirks, specific looks, or someone whose appearance is simply bizarre.

When that happens, ad agencies often turn to Ugly Models, a modelling agency in London that specializes in weird-looking actors and models.

Like most agencies, Ugly offers "girls" and "guys." But it also has categories for "wee folks" (dwarves), "thugs" (exactly what you think), "bikers," "twins," "bodies" (bodybuilders) and "x-files" (often people with an extreme number of tattoos or body piercings).

Here's a few of them.

Ugly — and its sister agency, Rage — represents the usual range of "normal" model looks ...

And also clients like Elaine Davidson, the world record holder for most body piercings.

This model has black and purple hair, and speaks Romanian.

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It turns out Beyoncé's breath-taking performance of the National Anthem at Obama's inauguration was too good to be true. 

Page Six is reporting Beyoncé's performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" was 100 percent lip-synched.

Kristin DuBois, a representative for the United States Marine Band which performed alongside Beyoncé's performance says the lip-dub was a last minute decision.

“All music is pre-recorded for the ceremony because there are so many eventualities and conditions that day,” said DuBois. “We performed, live, the band. But we received last-minute word that Beyonce was going to use the pre-recorded vocal track."

Watch Beyoncé's performance below and see if you can tell the difference. 

The singer's next set to perform live during the Super Bowl halftime show.

SEE ALSO: It's not that big of a deal whether or not Beyoncé lip-synched >

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A lot of readers seemed to enjoy our first look at the early roles of actors who went on to bigger and better things (and you guys came up with a lot of good ones on your own as well!)

Your collective power of recall inspired me to so some further sleuthing through the archives; I hope you enjoy this second installment of big hair and bad fashions!

Michelle Pfeiffer

After Animal House became a bona fide box office hit, all three TV networks scrambled to get a frat-house sitcom on the air in 1979.

ABC's Delta House was the most "official" of the trio, having signed a few of the actors from the original film. Nevertheless it only lasted for 13 episodes.

She's not listed, but that's Michelle Pfeiffer (in her very first role) smooching Otter during the opening credits.

Jennifer Aniston

Another ill-fated attempt at cashing in on a hit teen movie was 1990's Ferris Bueller.

It lasted only a few months, but remains slightly memorable as the launching pad for Jennifer Aniston, who, prior to having her deviated septum repaired, resembles a young Mayim Bialik.

Interestingly enough, when Ferris Bueller was cancelled, it was replaced mid-season by Blossom, starring Mayim Bialik.

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster was just seven years old when she appeared in this episode of Julia, but even at that tender age she reads her lines like a pro compared to fellow child actor Marc Copage ("Corey Baker"), who punctuates each! word! with! an! exclamation! point!

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Move aside Gaga, with 33,339,464 followers, Justin Bieber is now the most popular person on Twitter.

As of today, the "Never Say Never" singer just inched out over Gaga's 33,334,048 followers.

The most popular celebrities on Twitter consists mostly of singers:

Katy Perry: 31,494,581

Rihanna: 27,951,344

Britney Spears: 23,375,022

Taylor Swift: 23,201,232

Shakira: 19,385,229

Kim Kardashian: 17,235,666

Ellen: 16,282,010

Oprah: 16,108,924

SEE ALSO: Beyoncé lip-synched her National Anthem Inauguration performance >

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Yesterday, President Obama was sworn in for his second term on a cold Martin Luther King Day in Washington DC. Beyoncé gave a killer performance, speeches were read, and celebrities from near and far shared their thoughts on the occasion.

Most approved of Obama's return to office and his speech: 

1st time a president of US in an inaugural speech has called for equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans, also referenced Stonewall.

— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) January 21, 2013

On this monumental day, we celebrate two amazing and inspirational men.. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama!

— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) January 22, 2013

Tough day for Michelle Obama's ex-boyfriends

— B.J. Novak (@bjnovak) January 21, 2013

Great to hear President Obama call for climate action in today's #inaug2013 address. Congratulations Mr. President bit.ly/VgnNwd

— Al Gore (@algore) January 21, 2013

And, there were those who were underwhelmed:

Clearly Obama flunked his first term since he's being forced to repeat it again.

— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) January 22, 2013

Katy Perry focused less on the event, and more on accessories:

Plenty praised Beyoncé's performance: 

BOOM! #Beyonce

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 21, 2013

The hardest song in any repertoire, the National Anthem.She had to remove the in-ear monitor. It's a bear.She sang beautifully.

— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) January 21, 2013

And, then there was the Tweet from the man of the hour:

SEE ALSO: James Franco's really weird inauguration poem for Obama >

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Everyone is shocked to find out that Beyoncé lip-synched the National Anthem during President Obama's Inauguration ceremony. 

Sure, it's slightly disappointing to be duped after thinking the flawless performance we saw was live; however, we shouldn't be that surprised.

In fact, she'll most likely be lip-synching (at least part of) her Super Bowl halftime performance as well. 

In no way are we endorsing lip-synching and saying it's completely fine to do; however, the "Run the World" singer isn't the first to lip-sync a pre-recorded version of "The Star Spangled Banner," and most certainly won't be the last. 

Since the early '90s, it's become more commonplace for singers to perform with pre-recorded music, especially when performing the National Anthem, in order to prevent anything outside of perfection in their routines. 

In the past few years, Jennifer Hudson lip-synched the anthem at the 2009 Super Bowl, Britney Spears has done it at Circus concert performances, and there was even speculation that Aretha Franklin lip-synched the anthem at a Lakers game in 2004.  

Though live performances such as Britney's are more questionable – fans are dishing out a lot of money expecting a live performance – the Super Bowl requires performers submit backup tracks a week before showtime, a prerequisite that has been in place since 1993. 

Pregame show producer Rickey Minor told the Associated Press in 2009 he asked that both Hudson and Faith Hill sing the National Anthem and "America the Beautiful" respectively using tracks they submitted. 

"That's the right way to do it," said Minor. "There's too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance." 

In the past few years, we've seen "glitches" ranging from Christina Aguilera during the 2011 Super Bowl and Jesse McCartney's verse-skipping rendition at a Nascar event in 2009.  

But, the lip-synching has been around far longer than that by stars bigger than Beyoncé. 

Whitney Houston, lip-synched the National Anthem during the height of her career in 1991 before Super Bowl XXV.

Houston's performance wasn't a complete lip-sync. The late singer's former spokesperson Dan Klores told the Wall Street Journal she did sing — just into a dead mic which only allowed people 200 feet in front of her to hear.  

According to Klores, Super Bowl performers required a recording to be made even then. 

"It was a technical decision partially based on the noise factor," said Klores. 

Last year, many said much of Madonna's half-time show was lip-synched.  

Looking at the Inauguration, it appears that too requires pre-recorded music, explaining why Beyoncé may have opted to lip-sync, even if Kelly Clarkson did sing live.

So, while you're ready and raring to watch Beyoncé during the Super Bowl halftime show come Feb 3, remember, she probably won't be performing the entire thing live. 

At the end of the day, you'll still enjoy the performance for what it is, lip-sync or no lip-sync, because we know Beyoncé's a talented singer, and, more so, a great dancer. 

SEE ALSO: Beyoncé's lip-synched performance at the Inauguration >

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Michelle and Malia Obama were both photographed wearing J. Crew during the inaugural festivities yesterday. 

The First Lady wore a jeweled belt, while her daughter wore a plum coat. 

The First Family are often photographed wearing J. Crew, an affordable brand that makes them appear more approachable. 

But the public won't be able to replicate the Obama ladies' looks because J. Crew is retiring them, creative director Jenna Lyonstold the Today Show. 

"(Michelle Obama's) belt was actually a sash. She fashioned it into a belt around the coat,” Lyons said. “We won’t rerun that. She did her own thing to that, and out of respect, we’ll let her have her that moment.”

Malia's coat color will also be retired, Lyons said. 

"The lady day coat that Malia was wearing has been in our line for years, and we’ll continue that, but we’ll retire the color,” said J.Crew’s creative director, Jenna Lyons. “We won’t do the color again, just out of respect for the first family.”

Lyons also told Women's Wear Daily that J. Crew's sales weren't impacted by whether the Obamas wear it. 

“I think it’s difficult to equate it into dollars,” Lyons said when asked about if the brand would see an increase in sales. 

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Turns out Jeremy Renner — known for his roles in The Bourne Legacy, The Avengers, and the up-coming Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters — is also a real estate buff.

According to an August profile in Esquire, Renner has flipped roughly 15 Los Angeles-area homes with his business partner Kristoffer Winters over the past decade. And this Holmby Hills mansion in LA might be the pair's highest-grossing venture yet.

First reported by the Zillow Blog, the estate is a staggering 10,000-square-foot, single-level mansion sitting on two acres of land. The home was completely rebuilt by architect Philip Vertoch and designed by Renner's partner, Kristoffer Winters Design. It now has six bedrooms, 11-baths, five fireplaces, a theater, and multiple pools and fountains scattered throughout the property.

The estate was last purchased for $7 million back in 2010, according to Zillow— a far cry from today's $24.95 million asking price.

Welcome to the Holmby Hills estate.

The sprawling home sits on approximately two acres of land in LA.

Source: The Reserve | Holmby Hills

It has an art deco-theme, and was designed by Architect Phillip Vertoch.

Source: The Reserve | Holmby Hills

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