Abridging classic novels for younger readers is nothing new. But in recent years, classic literature has been graphic novel-ized, making it more accessible for readers young and old while preserving the plot, themes, and sometimes even the author’s voice. English class will never be the same, thanks to these classics gone graphic.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde’s only novel, about a man who sells his soul to maintain his beauty, was just begging for a more visual makeover. The 2009 graphic novel written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard abridges the text, but still keeps much of Wilde’s original prose. Marvel’s 2008 version has better graphics, but it reads more like a copy of SparkNotes. Both books are recommended as a supplement to—not a substitute for—the original work. In the words of Dorian Gray himself, “How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. If it were only the other way!” 

The Metamorphosis

The Incredible Hulk. Wolverine. Gregor Samsa. All of these characters undergo major transformations, but only one of them might appear on an AP English exam. Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella about a traveling salesman who wakes up to find he’s turned into a huge insect makes for a compelling graphic novel. Peter Kuper’s 2004 adaptation looks like an enjoyable read, but it goes against Kafka’s wishes. When the cover of the first edition was being designed nearly a century ago, the author asked that Gregor not be drawn as an insect. Instead, he hoped readers would conjure their own image of “horrible vermin” when picturing the creepy-crawly protagonist.

"The Trial," Kafka’s dystopian novel about the perils of bureaucracy, has also been adapted into a graphic novel. And if you want to learn more about the man behind the stories, check out Kafka’s graphic biography by R. Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz.

Ulysses

"Ulysses" is one of those works that comes with a few barriers to entry. For starters, the Penguin Classics version is 1040 pages long. Then there are the 18 unstructured chapters that James Joyce boasted “[have] so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant.” (Thanks, dude.) But Robert Berry’s “Ulysses ‘seen’” makes the modernist masterpiece more modern—and accessible—than ever. The graphic novel is available for free online or $7.99 on the iPad. Like the original, Berry’s adaptation is serialized and raised a few questions of obscenity—Apple required nude images to be removed. Unlike the original, each chapter comes with a handy reader’s guide.

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No Doubt removed its latest video from the internet, following accusations of racism. The band admitted it had "offended people" with its stereotypical depiction of Native Americans in the video for "Looking Hot."

On Friday, No Doubt seemed thrilled with the video for "Looking Hot," the second single from their new album. The video features Gwen Stefani and the rest of the band dressed as cowboys and Indians. It is colourful, cartoonish and politically incorrect.

But by the end of the day, "Looking Hot" had been removed from YouTube, Vevo and other video sites. While many No Doubt fans loved the video, others were critical of its tactlessness. On Saturday, the band issued an apology:

"Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialise Native American people, their culture or their history," No Doubt wrote on their website. "Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realise now that we have offended people … We sincerely apologise to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video. Being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are."

Melina Matsoukas, who directed the video, has yet to comment on the controversy. Her previous work includes Rihanna's "You Found Love" and Lily Allen's "Not Fair." However, she was also responsible for the 2011 Rihanna video "S&M," which resulted in a lawsuit from photographer David LaChapelle, who accused Rihanna and Matsoukas of appropriating his work without permission. The suit was ultimately settled out of court.

No Doubt's sixth studio album, Push and Shove, was released in September. It reached No 16 in the UK.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

Judge for yourself:

No Doubt - Looking Hotby jimihubabua

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JulianneMoore, who for years acted as a spokesmodel for Revlon, is the new face of L'Oreal. The 51-year-old actress will be pitching a new product called Cellular Renaissance. Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce have also done campaigns for the company.

Ad Age explores how Starbucks' plans to turn China into a coffee culture and become its second largest market by 2014.

According to ComScore, people watched 9.4 billion online video ads in September, which is 100 million fewer than they watched in August. 

Digiday thinks that these 10 businesses are using LinkedIn the best.

This infographic breaks down the paywall trend. Newspaper websites with paywalls have doubled in just one year.

NPR has reorganized and hired two execs to help its marketing and strategy. Emma Carrasco, formerly an evp at Miami-based ad shop Republica, is NPR's new CMO, and Loren Mayor, of PBS, is the svp for strategy.

Sorry guys, the New York Times' paywall is back.

Previously on Business Insider Advertising:

• Martha Stewart's Empire Is Collapsing Yet She Still Gets Paid Like A Sultan
• That AT&T Video Of A High School Football Player Doing A Flip Over An Opponent Is FAKE
• What These Companies Did In The Wake Of Hurricane Sandy Will Restore Your Faith In Big Business
• Who Are The Most Powerful People In PR?
• Watch Ryan Lochte's Stiff, Lifeless Performance In This New Nissan Ad

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Taylor Swift is known for a lot of things in the entertainment industry.

She is a certified multi-platinum selling artist who has been nominated for a multitude of awards, including Best New Artist at the 50th Grammy Awards.

But one thing many people may not know about Taylor Swift is that, despite working in an industry where many celebrities go broke at the drop of a hat, she is very responsible with her income.

In fact, there are many financial lessons we can learn from this young starlet.

Taylor Swift Net Worth

Taylor Swift is no stranger to earning a good income. It probably doesn’t hurt that the superstar is great at selling records. Last week, on the first day of the release of her new album “Red,” she sold more than 262,000 copies on iTunes.

However, as we all know from the bankruptcies of artists like Billy Joel, TLC, Toni Braxton and Willie Nelson, selling thousands of records doesn’t equal financial freedom.

Luckily, Taylor Swift has yet to suffer the fate of many other celebrities. According to May 2012 figures from Forbes Magazine, she earned $57 million last year alone.

Others estimate Taylor Swift’s net worth rests around $165 million as the third highest-paid woman in Hollywood after Oprah and Britney Spears. Not bad for a 22-year-old with an amazing career on the horizon.

5 Taylor Swift Smart Money Moves

Though Swift wasn’t a winner at the CMA Awards 2012, she’s a winner when it comes to managing her finances. Here are five ways we could learn a thing or two about managing money from Taylor Swift.

1. Find a Good Money Manager

A large part of Taylor’s financial success can be attributed to her finding a great money manager before her career even took off. She was quite successful at the age of 16, so how did she pull off a feat many of those who are decades her senior can’t? Well, it turns out Taylor Swift’s dad is also a Merrill Lynch adviser in Nashville who has worked at the company for over 30 years.

Mirror Taylor Swift by finding someone you can trust to manage your income. That could be a professional money manager, trusted family member, or even yourself. No matter who manages your cash, the key is keeping track of your income and expenses so that you don’t worry about money slipping through your fingers.

2. Think Strategically about Your Money

Taylor made headlines when she shared her decision to sell her new album “Red” in some pretty unconventional places, including Papa John’s and Walgreens. While some may think this route is plain odd, others considered it to be a smart move, as she has plenty of fans who likely frequent these locations and may appreciate the option of purchasing her CD while doing other shopping.

To strategically use CDs in your own financial life, save money in safe deposit products like certificates of deposit (CDs). Who knows, with the money you earn from your investment, you could boost your budget enough to thank Swift for the idea and pick up one of her albums.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Buy Used Items

Another tip you can borrow from Taylor Swift is buying used items. She loves spending money on retro looks and, according to her official website, goes “into a trance when I’m in an antique store.”

Great, unique items can be found in thrift stores, antique shops or even at yard sales, sometimes at a fraction of their original cost. If you don’t like buying used, you could also save a few bucks by opting to purchase generic products instead of always springing for name-brand goods.

4. Think About Your Financial Future

In a recent Nightline interview, Swift admitted that she’s a bit of a worrywart when it comes to her finances. “I worry about everything,” she acknowledged.” Where am I going to live? What about this and that and that?”

While it’s not advisable to worry about all aspects of your life, it’s a great idea to put some plans in place, particularly in relation to your finances. Have you set aside money to purchase a home? Do you have retirement savings set aside? The more you think about your future now, the less you will have to worry about down the line.

5. Create a College Fund for Your Kids

Recently, Swift said she was already saving for her children’s college tuition, even before having her first child! She has started setting aside money in a savings account so that her future kids will have enough money to pay for their higher education costs.

With tuition costs skyrocketing every year and student loan debt surpassing $1 trillion, it’s always a good idea to start investing in a child’s education as soon as possible.

It’s great that Taylor Swift makes smart money moves that help her hold on to her enormous wealth. If you follow her lead, you may find that you too can have a comfortable financial life in the years to come.

Now see the worst financial role models in Hollywood > 

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Bravo's Startup: Silicon Valley show airs tonight.

To say that BusinessWeek's Sam Grobart didn't like it would be an understatement. He watched a pre-screen of Randi Zuckerberg's controversial Bravo show and proclaimed:

"When I’m on my deathbed, I won’t be accepting of my demise. I’ll be angry because I’ll know there are 44 minutes owed to me from 2012, minutes lost to this sham of a show."

The cast, he says, is comprised of a "half-dozen-not-very-bright young things" who are "shallower than a dinner plate from the Kate Hudson Kitchen Kollection."

Other descriptions used: "vapid," "petty sociopathy" and "narcissistic idiocy."

Grobart really tries to describe the episode, but he can't get more than two lines without flinging mud at the show's producer, Randi Zuckerberg, and the show's cast. He describes a scene in which a brother-sister team of entrepreneurs, Ben and Hermoine Way, have a horrible meeting with 500Startups' Dave McClure. Apparently Hermoine cat naps under McClure's desk because she's hung over.

The first episode also includes a lot of pool time, booze, cat fights and a toga party. Grobart likens it to any Real World episode that's ever aired.

Grobart's biggest issue with the show isn't its brain-dead cast members though. It's the fact that it doesn't resemble the true Silicon Valley startup culture at all. Silicon Valley could have its own show, he says, full of real problems that don't need to be fabricated. It could depict a desperate hunt for engineering talent or entrepreneurs who don't sleep because they're working 24/7.

Instead, Grobart says Bravo missed the boat entirely. He concludes that the show is as "real" and "authentic" as a Taco Bell Meximelt.

If you're still planning to watch the episode tonight, you might as well meet its cast members:

Meet The 7 Stars Of The New Silicon Valley Reality Show >

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• Actor and outspoken liberal John Cusack is developing a movie about conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, Cusack's production company said Friday. "Rush," a working title, already has a director, a script and Cusack, 46, will play the role of the 61-year-old conservative firebrand.

• ABC's Reba McEntire-produced and headlined show about a former country star outperformed NBC's star-studded but ratings-dud "Coming Together" telethon to benefit Hurricane Sandy victims—though it did raise $23 million for hurricane relief

• Sharon Osbournereveals she had a double mastectomy after discovering she has the BRCA gene—a substantially increased, but not guaranteed, chance of getting breast cancer. Osbourne, who previously battled colon cancer, says that she “didn’t want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me.”

• Kristen Bell, 32, and Dax Shepard, 37, are reportedly expecting a baby. "They’re both ecstatic. They can’t wait to become parents,” a friend tells People of the couple, who have been together since 2007 but don’t plan to marry until same-sex marriage is legal in their home state of California.

• Sam Mendes and his triple Oscar-nominated "Skyfall" co-screenwriter John Loganare teaming up again for their first run at a TV series about an 1800s vampire-hunter aimed at premium cable. The show is set in London and features Van Helsing and Dr. Frankenstein.

• Jay-Z and Beyoncésat courtside at the Brooklyn Nets’ home opener on Saturday night, watching their team beat the Raptors 107-100.

• Supermodel Gisele Bundchenshowed off her baby bump in a leopard bikini while vacationing in Miami.

SEE ALSO: Jimmy Fallon had a bizarre encounter with Lindsay Lohan in the midst of Hurricane Sandy >

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Despite the disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy, "Saturday Night Live" continued as usual this past weekend, with comedian Louis C.K. acting as host.

In one sketch during the show, C.K. played President Lincoln in a role many have not considered for the late president: a stand-up comedian.

During "Lincoln's" performance, he joked about his wife, who he called "historically insane," slavery, and even his own murder.

Concerning slavery, "Lincoln" said "The only thing I'm really tired of is arguing with slave owners about slavery as if they're not just f----g a--holes....You gotta act like you're kinda cool with it. If I could own a couple dudes, I'd love to own a couple dudes."

"Lincoln" then went on to predict his own murder, saying he sympathizes with the detective who has to investigate the case. 

"You know who I feel bad for is the detective who has to try to solve my murder because they're gonna go, let's see, who mighta done it? Oh, I don't know, anyone from the middle of the country down. Maybe one of them did it. Maybe they had a motive like I ruined the whole way they do everything."

Check out the video here, which was created and edited by Lincoln himself.

SEE ALSO: Jimmy Fallon's bizarre encounter with Lindsay Lohan >

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Denzel Washington proved no match for Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph."

The animated cartoon nearly doubled the box office earnings of Washington's "Flight."

Despite the Ralph's stellar weekend and reviews, it didn't out earn the large $66.3 million opening weekend of Disney and Pixar's summer hit "Brave." However, the film will easily be among Disney's top money earners of the year.

In comparison to Washington's other recent films "The Book of Eli," "Unstoppable," and "Safe House,"  "Flight" finds itself on the lower end of the spectrum.

Meanwhile, Russell Crowe's "The Man with the Iron Fists" receives a paltry debut for Universal. With competition from "Skyfall" out this Friday, the film will take a beating in week two.

Out of the top ten this week are Matthew Fox's "Alex Cross" which has earned $23 million of its estimated $35 million budget. 

Summit's "Sinister" and Nickelodeon's tween comedy "Fun Size" also fall out of the top films. And, "Chasing Mavericks" continues to be a wash out for Fox earning $1.2 million.

Here are this weekend's winners and losers at the box office:

10. "Silent Hill: Revelation 3D" barely made it into the top ten with $3.3 million. In week two, the film has earned $13.9 million of an estimated $20 million budget.

9. Kevin James' "Here Comes the Boom" earns $3.6 million in week four. The film's $35.6 million total gross is less than half that of "Zookeeper" at the same point. Meanwhile, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" grossed $98.8 million at the one month point in theaters.

8. "Paranormal Activity 4" begins to wear off its Halloween welcome earning $4.3 million. The low-budget Paramount horror flick is still tracking south of its predecessors. "Paranormal Activity 3" grossed $95.1 million by the end of week three.

7. Adam Sandler's "Hotel Transylvania" dipped four spots with $4.5 million knocking it out of the top three for the first time in its six-week run. The animated film has earned $137.5 million to date.

6. Tom Hanks and Halle Berry's "Cloud Atlas" took a 45.4% dip earning $5.2 million. The film, based off the 2004 novel consisting of six smaller stories has earned $18.2 million in two weeks.

5. Liam Neeson's "Taken 2" continues it's five-week run with another $6 million. The sequel to the 2008 action thriller has earned more than $336.5 million worldwide.

4. Eli Roth's "The Man with the Iron Fists" featuring Lucy Liu and Russell Crowe came up short with $8.2 million. The film cost an estimated $15 million to produce.

3. Ben Affleck continues his run with "Argo." The film, based on a CIA-Canadian secret operation in Iran, has earned $89.3 million worldwide during its one month in theaters.

2. Denzel Washington's "Flight" opened to $25 million, a stronger debut than "The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3" and "Unstoppable," but far less than the $40.1 million gross of February's "Safe House."

1. Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" not only won over the approval of critics but viewers as well with $49.1 million. The film performed slightly better than Disney's 2010 animated feature, "Tangled" ($48.7 million). With a film that appeals to virtually everyone with the Monster's Inc-like relationship of Sully and Boo in Ralph and Venelope, the film should continue its box-office dominance in lieu of "Skyfall" this upcoming weekend.

SEE ALSO: How much has-been celebrities charge per appearance >

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Netflix has adopted a "shareholder rights" plan designed to defend the company against takeover attempts by the likes of Carl Icahn, who last week acquired a ten-percent stake in the company after abandoning a previous bid to take it over.

More to come. Here's the release:

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) announced that its Board of Directors adopted a stockholder rights plan (the “Rights Plan” or “Plan”) and declared a dividend distribution of one right (“Right”) for each outstanding share of Netflix common stock.

The Rights Plan is intended to protect Netflix and its stockholders from efforts to obtain control of Netflix that the Board of Directors determines are not in the best interests of Netflix and its stockholders, and to enable all stockholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in Netflix. The Rights Plan is not intended to interfere with any merger, tender or exchange offer or other business combination approved by the Board of Directors.

Pursuant to the Plan, Netflix is issuing one Right for each current share of common stock outstanding at the close of business on November 2, 2012. Initially, these rights will not be exercisable and will trade with the shares of Netflix’s common stock. If the Rights become exercisable, each Right will entitle stockholders to buy one one-thousandth of a share of a new series of participating preferred stock at an exercise price of $350 per Right.

The Rights will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires 10% (or 20% in the case of institutional investors filing on Schedule 13G, as described in the Rights Plan) or more of Netflix’s common stock in a transaction not approved by Netflix's Board of Directors. If a person or group acquires 10% (or 20% in the case of 13G institutional investors) or more of Netflix’s outstanding common stock, each Right will entitle its holder (other than such person or members of such group) to purchase, at the Right’s exercise price (subject to adjustment as provided in the Plan), a number of shares of Netflix’s common stock having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price.

In addition, if after a person or group acquires 10% (or 20% in the case of 13G institutional investors) or more of Netflix’s outstanding common stock, Netflix merges into another company, an acquiring entity merges into Netflix or Netflix sells or transfers more than 50% of its assets, cash flow or earning power, then each Right will entitle the holder thereof to purchase, for the exercise price, a number of shares of common stock of the person engaging in the transaction having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price. The acquiring person will not be entitled to exercise these Rights.

Netflix’s Board of Directors may redeem the Rights for $0.001 per Right at any time before an event that causes the Rights to become exercisable. The Rights will expire on November 2, 2015, unless the Rights have previously been redeemed by the Board of Directors.

Additional details about the Rights Plan will be contained in a Form 8-K to be filed by Netflix with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

SEE ALSO: The staggering fees has-been celebrities charge for appearances >

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The Walt Disney Company will have to untangle a complicated multi-studio web of rights in order to fully exploit its massive purchase last week of George Lucas' most memorable characters.

The Mouse House's deal to buy Lucasfilm is a near-total recall of its $4 billion purchase three years ago of comic-book company Marvel. 

It's not just the dollar figures that were nearly identical. As with the comic-book company, Disney may have to shell out a hefty sum on top of the $4.05 billion it already spent to make the deal pay off, either by buying back rights or producing new films.

That's because any gold to be mined from those earlier space operas has to be shared with rivals.

The rights to the first film in the "Star Wars" franchise, retroactively titled "A New Hope," are wholly owned by 20th Century Fox, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap. And Fox's claim on Luke, Leia and Han Solo doesn't stop there. While Lucasfilm controls the other films in the series, Fox maintains theatrical and home-video distribution rights to those films through May 2020, historically charging a fee of between 6 percent to 8 percent of receipts.

Disney claims that it has no immediate plans to exploit Lucasfilm's other crown jewel, the Indiana Jones franchise, but should it change that stance, it faces another barrier.

Also read: 'Star Wars' 7, 8 and 9 Are 'The Most Exciting,' Says George Lucas Biographer (Exclusive)

Paramount, which distributed all four films in the adventure franchise, has an option to distribute any future sequels, an individual with knowledge of the pact told TheWrap. It only earns a distribution fee for its pains, but that will eat into any profits for Disney.

Should another Indy film make it out of the gate, that fee will be on the order of what the studio charged to handle the 2008 rollout of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:" Roughly 12.5 percent of theatrical, home entertainment, and television revenue.

It's a safe bet that Disney and its team of lawyers will be poring over contracts that Lucasfilm made with Paramount and particularly Fox to determine how expansive their claims on these films are and if they extend into digital avenues of distribution.

After all, in an industry struggling to compete with online streaming services like Netflix, the "Star Wars" films remain big sellers.  When the six-disc set of "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" was released in 2011, it sold $84 million worth of Blu-rays worldwide in its first week of release and became the highest-selling Blu-ray catalog title in history.

Seth Willenson, a Hollywood valuation expert and consultant, believes that while the planned 3D re-releases of the "Star Wars" movies may generate substantial profits both in theaters and on Blu-ray and DVD, the series' true value is as a bulwark against the rapid evolution of entertainment -- an ecosystem that is being challenged by digital upstarts and new distribution streams daily.

"I don't think home video or theatrical releases are where the future is going to be," he told TheWrap. "It's going to be across a number of other platforms, many of which we don't know yet. There's ultimately going to be a convergence of all of these types of media, and that's going to increase the value of a few evergreen properties like 'Star Wars' that can cut across all of these channels."

He adds that it is standard practice for studios to haggle, sometimes in court, over contracts signed before internet platforms had matured.

"It's a matter of how a contract is written," Willenson said. "It’s all in the draftsmanship and definitions and whether these contracts were made when things like Netflix were around. People have corrected for that today by including language that gives them all rights in the universe and any planets that have ever been discovered, blah, blah, blah. But there is no way of knowing what rights were granted in these distribution deals and which remain with Lucasfilm."

Also read: Will the Force Be With Disney’s $4B 'Star Wars' Gamble?

Regardless, Willenson argues that Disney knew what it was getting in Lucasfilm and is no stranger to dealing with complicated intellectual property rights.

"They were willing to make the investment in Marvel with Paramount having ongoing rights to some of the biggest franchises," he told TheWrap.

Indeed, Marvel's rights were even more Byzantine, with the comic-book company tying up many of its most popular characters, such as Spider-Man and The X-Men, at studios like Sony and Fox. Moreover, at the time of the sale, Universal Studios owned property rights to most major Marvel characters for exclusive use at its theme parks in Orlando and Japan, potentially denying Disney a valuable form of cross-pollination with its own theme parks.

Thanks to the $1.5 billion box-office success of "The Avengers," that pact is looking smart right now. But getting to that point involved another massive expenditure on top of the $4 billion Disney paid to buy Marvel. In 2011, it spent $115 million to buy back distribution of Marvel properties like "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" from Paramount.

That hints at the lengths it might go to pry back some rights to "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones." But those aren't the only costs that will grow. Given the size and scope of the proposed three future "Star Wars" installments, analysts project that each movie will cost in the neighborhood of $200 million to produce.

Despite the questions surrounding the deal and risks associated with breathing fresh life into a franchise that many thought lost its way with its second trilogy, analysts remain bullish on the pact.

"It's not a game changer -- as long as they get the new movies to work," Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities, told TheWrap.

Adds Hal Vogel, a media analyst and CEO of Vogel Capital Management: "Clearly Lucas retained merchandising, and that's what Disney gets.

Disney is a marvelous merchandiser. People could look back on this and say it was a steal."

In a conference call with analysts and investors Tuesday, Disney took pains to emphasize that it was more interested in wringing cash from future films and using the "Star Wars" characters to make toys and theme park rides than it is on mining Lucasfilm library of older films.

"Our valuation focused almost entirely on the financial potential of the 'Star Wars' franchise, which we expect to provide us with a stream of story-telling opportunities for years to come delivered via all relevant platforms on a global basis," Jay Rasulo, Disney's chief financial officer, said. " There are a number of ways our company will derive value from Lucasfilm's intellectual property, some of which can be realized immediately while others will accrue to us over time."

As for Indiana Jones, Disney Chairman Bob Iger said that while he loves the franchise, there are no plans to extend the series.

"Obviously he went out of way to emphasize that there is no value to the ['Indiana Jones'] franchise, but that could just be the first stepping point in a negotiating posture with Paramount," Harrigan said.

Even if Iger is right and the beauty of the deal lies in a "galaxy far, far away," for the foreseeable future, Disney will be sharing profits from the first six "Star Wars" with Fox. That means that in order to make this deal a winner on the magnitude of Disney's purchase of Marvel or Pixar, it has to do something that George Lucas himself was unable to do. Namely, recapture the magic of the initial three films in the series and avoid the pitfalls that led many critics and fanboys to revile his later prequels. In other words, a repeat of Jar Jar Binks could be costly.

SEE ALSO: The timing of George Lucas' Disney announcement is highly suspect >

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If we take Will Ferrell's advertising history as his word, the comedian loves himself some Old Milwaukee Beer— and some Obama.

In a YouTube video that looks like an outtake from "Anchorman II" — featuring a room that looks like it smells of rich mahogany — Ferrell tells viewers that he'll do anything if they vote tomorrow. He'll do a special dance, help move a couch, give you a tattoo ("fair warning, I don't know how to draw"), and even eat human toenails.

Although it's unclear if Ferrell will eat toenails if you vote for just anyone. The spot ends: "Vote Obama, it's a slam dunk"

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Saturday Night Live's Jason Sudeikis parodied Mitt Romney's "closing argument" — and his response to Hurricane Sandy — in one last campaign-themed "Weekend Update" spoof Saturday. 

"In these trying times, I think there is something very important that people are forgetting — I'm Mitt Romney and I'm running for President." 

The whole thing is pretty hilarious. Watch the video below: 

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It's hard to believe it's been more than two years since the controversial ending of ABC's "Lost."

Though the island may not have answered all of its mysteries, one certainty is where most of the cast has gone since the show took its bow in 2010.

Very few of the show's stars have completely fizzled from the spotlight–even Rose is currently on ABC Family.

A quick channel surf will more than likely reveal a few of the shipwrecked Smokey survivors have jumped ship to other successful ABC or network shows. 

And, most of the former co-stars have popped up on the same series.

THEN: Matthew Fox was the leader of the Oceanic 815 survivors, Jack Shephard.

NOW: Fox has tried to become a breakout movie star first in 2008's "Vantage Point" and most recently as a villain in flop "Alex Cross." Next year, he's slated to appear in zombie film "World War Z."

However, Fox has also had some trouble with the law. Last year, a Cleveland bus driver accused him of battery, while in May, he was arrested for DUI in Oregon.

Co-star Dominic Monaghan claimed earlier this year on Twitter Fox "beats women," an accusation Fox vehemently denied in Men's Fitness.

THEN: Evangeline Lilly played fugitive bad girl Kate Austin.

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Three new models, Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn and Hilary Rhoda will make their debuts on the Victoria's Secret catwalk on Wednesday. 

Spots in the famous fashion show are coveted. Many supermodels, including Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen, credit the brand with taking their careers to the next level. 

This is Cara Delevigne, a famous British socialite who has previously modeled for Stella McCartney, Burberry and Chanel: 

According to Delevenge's Twitter, she loves eyebrows and playing drums. She's also an actress and will appear in the upcoming film "Anna Karenina" with Keira Knightly. 

The 20-year-old's sister, Poppy, is also a famous model. 

Victoria's Secret's other new hire is Jourdan Dunn, another UK-born model: 

Dunn, who is 22, is one of the only black models to ever walk on Prada's runway. She's also been featured on the cover of Vogue. She has something in common with other Angels like Adriana Lima and Miranda Kerr--Dunn is the mother to a 5-year-old. 

And then there is American model Hilary Rhoda: 

Rhoda has appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and modeled for Estee Lauder campaigns. The 25-year-old is a veteran of the Victoria's Secret catalogues and has also appeared on the cover of Vogue. 

According to her Instagram profile, she's been hard at work training for the show. 

We'll be at the show and might be able to grab a moment with Delevingne or Dunn on the red carpet. 

DON'T MISS: 11 Surprising Facts About The Victoria's Secret Angels >

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Get excited.

Sylvester Stallone confirmed to Spanish site, El País, Nicolas Cage will appear in the next installment of "The Expendables." 

Jason Statham, Liam Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, and Chuck Norris all joined the sequel's testosterone-heavy cast this summer which earned $289.5 million worldwide.

Stallone's also vying for Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, and Mickey Rourke to join the crew.

Many sites are reporting Stallone made the reveal on a Facebook page, which is nothing more than a fan page.

Here's a rough translation of his interview with El Pais:

"We are preparing the film with the same passion and commitment as the two before it. We have already confirmed Nicolas Cage, a master actor who adds an intellectual aspect to the group. Hopefully, we can land Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes and Mickey Rourke. That is the great mission of the producer. We will continue with the same narrative scheme, the agility and the frenzy, which are inherent elements to the saga."

Stallone also hinted at a fourth film in the franchise:

Will it definitely be the last?

"I can't guarantee. In theory, it was to be two installments, but the public's love [for the franchise] encouraged us to work on a third. I guess as long as we amuse ourselves by offering fun and people, we can continue playing 'The Expendables'. For now we are not as expendable as we should be and as some critics want us to be."

SEE ALSO: How Disney took down Denzel Washington's "Flight" this weekend at the box office >

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On March 26, 2012, a new media startup called Upworthy launched.

Upworthy is a 14-person site that tries to make meaningful information and pictures go viral.

Today, it is the fastest growing media company in the world. Upworthy finished October with 8.7 million monthly uniques, up from 6 million the month prior. In August, it hit four million uniques, up from 2.5 million in July. Its fast growth was rewarded with $4 million from investors.

There are lots of media companies out there, but none have grown that quickly.

Are Upworthy's growth and business model sustainable? We're not sure, but either way the stats are impressive. We asked CEO and co-founder Eli Pariser what Upworthy has been doing to smash traffic records every month.

Here's what he had to say.

Don't write about politics.

Before he started Upworthy, Pariser worked for a digital, political publication, MoveOn. He and his co-founder, The Onion's former Managing Editor, Peter Koechley, thought the upcoming election would drive traffic to Upworthy.

But people weren't sharing much of Upworthy's political content, so the pair ditched that angle and broadened the site's coverage.

"We thought, 'Ok, it's an election year, people are going to be really interested in politics and the campaign, and we'll get a leg up that way,'" Pariser says. "The election was our whole argument for starting Upworthy this year. But it turned out to be a total non-driver of growth. Of all our top pieces, only a couple deal with politics or the election."

It can be tough for startups to let go of initial ideas and pivot to what's working. But as soon as Pariser let go of the politics angle, traffic soared.

Find story ideas on social media feeds, not other websites.

Upworthy's curators don't start their days surfing other websites for news. They surf social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook instead.

Sometimes it's easier to highlight a conversation than to start a new one.

"We have our team of curators spending all their time looking on the Internet for stuff," says Pariser. "We go for visible, sharable stories and really stay away from doing more typical, text-driven articles and blogging. We lean into images and videos."

Focus on Facebook, not Twitter

Upworthy has found that Twitter is small traffic potatoes compared to Facebook. At the end of the day, Facebook is where the most people spend the vast majority of their time online.

"Facebook is a huge piece of the puzzle for us," says Pariser. "Our Facebook community has grown from zero in March to over 600,000 likes."

Pariser says Upworthy hasn't done anything particularly brilliant to juice Facebook for traffic. It just spent a lot of time and energy cracking the social network.

"Honestly, I think part of [our success with it] is we take Facebook much more seriously than many of the other social networks," he says. "I love Twitter, and Twitter is a fun place to hang out with smart people, but it's a small fraction of our traffic compared to Facebook. The time and attention most sites spend on [perfecting] their homepages is probably what we spend on Facebook. If you look at our homepage, it's pretty mediocre."

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Kate Moss is just 38 years old, but her career already spans four calendar decades. That's impressive in a business where models face involuntary retirement in their early 20s.

Skip straight to the images that define Kate Moss >

It's even more impressive once you consider how quickly the fashion business redefines beauty. Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista, for instance, were considered the faces of the 1980s and 1990s. Today, they'd struggle to get work --  their square-jawed American features just look old fashioned in a time when Eastern European and Asian women are the trend.

Kate Moss, however, carries on regardless. She's still in high demand as a face for brands. The list of companies she has endorsed -- David Yurman, Burberry, Dior, Chanel, Topshop, Calvin Klein and dozens of others -- is so long that brands actually risk de-differentiating themselves against their competitors when they use her.

One theory why Moss endures is to do with her widely spaced eyes and her flat, open face. She is a blank, beautiful slate: Her expression could indicate anything: arousal or boredom, fear or anticipation, contentment or sadness. You decide.

A new book of iconic photos of Moss is being published Nov. 6. It covers her life as model from 1988 -- when she was "discovered" by agency Storm Model Management at JFK airport in New York, age just 14 -- to today. Moss also appears on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair (and is nude on the inside).

Most of the images of Moss were taken for ads, and these are the images that formed the key turning points in her career.

1990: Kate Moss signed up as a model in 1988, but got her first big break in 1990 when she was used on the cover of The Face, an influential U.K. style magazine.

1993: Moss's appearance as the model for Calvin Klein Jeans created the 'waif' look. (We've slightly censored this image.)

1993: The waif look was controversial. It inspired a debate about 'heroin chic,' and whether Moss's size-zero body was a healthy role model for girls. It's hard to believe now, but at the time Moss was considered an 'alternative' model with a radically non-glamorous look, compared with big-haired all-American models like Cindy Crawford.

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After a very long campaign season, Election Day is finally upon us. As millions of Americans line up at the polls to vote for their favorite candidate, we thought it would be appropriate to round-up the most successful election-themed films of all time.

While most of the films on the list focus on presidential campaigns, others center around senatorial, congressional, or local campaigns.

The following 20 films have been ranking according to worldwide gross totals, unless otherwise noted.

Nixon (1995): $13.7 million*

This film tells the story of the life of President Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins. It was nominated for four Oscars.  

*Ranked according to U.S. box office totals because worldwide totals not available.

Welcome to Mooseport (2004): $14.6 million

Starring Ray Romano and Gene Hackman, "Welcome to Mooseport" tells the story of a former president who decides to run for mayor in his hometown of Mooseport, Maine.

Election (1999): 14.9 million*

This movie, starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick, tells the story of a high school student's complicated campaign for student body president.

*Ranked according to U.S. box office totals because worldwide totals not available.

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Silicon Valley is undoubtedly a great place to start a company, secure investments, and network with like-minded individuals.

But for finding a mate?

In separate interviews, Sarah Austin and Hermione Way, costars of Bravo's "Start-Ups: Silicon Valley" reality-TV show, discussed what it's like dating in the tech industry.

From what they describe, it doesn't sound easy. 

Austin says that it's difficult because the dating pool is more spread out in Silicon Valley—San Francisco and San Jose are an hour apart, and in between are a host of suburbs.

Also, men in New York and Los Angeles are more attractive, she says.

Way claims that the selection is "one-third gay, one-third geeks, and one-third available guys."

But they both concur on this point: Guys in Silicon Valley are some of the smartest in the world.

"The hottest guys in the world may not be in Silicon Valley," Austin says. "But the smartest guys are and brains turn me on."

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Victoria's Secret tapes its famous fashion show at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan tomorrow.

The show is rumored to have a budget over $12 million. Models will wear circus costumes, complete with snake eyes, and Rihanna and Justin Bieber will perform.

But the Victoria's Secret runway wasn't always the production it is today. When the show started in 1995, there was no fancy lighting and models were just wearing underwear.

The show slowly started getting fancier. In 1998, angel wings appeared on the runway. From there, it was only a matter of time before diamonds and glitter appeared.

We found photos that track how the Victoria's Secret show went from boring to epic.

The first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was in 1995. It took place at the Plaza Hotel. Models stuck to simple lingerie and there was no special lighting.

By 1997, Victoria's Secret started featuring fancier lights in the show. The costumes also started to get more advanced, as seen below, but only for a few of the models.

But the focus was still largely on the lingerie in 1997, and outfits were relatively simple.

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