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‘Man of Steel’

Is There a Superman Curse?

Superstition has it that playing the Man of Steel is a career killer. Does the argument hold water? And does that mean the newest Clark Kent is doomed?

In Man of Steel, Henry Cavill dons the iconic red and blue suit, flies through the air with the greatest of ease, holds up buildings with his bare hands, and defeats an intergalactic army, all without tousling a strand of hair or suffering as much of a cut on his impossibly chiseled jaw. But can he survive “The Curse of Superman”?

Is There a Superman Curse?

From left: Supermen George Reeves, Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill. (From left: AP, Everett Collection, Warner Bros.)

Stretching back to George Reeves, the first actor to portray the beloved superhero on screen, in 1951’s Superman and the Mole Men, and all the way up to Brandon Routh, who last played the role in a movie in 2006’s Superman Returns, and Tom Welling, who just wrapped up his run as Clark Kent on The CW’s Smallville in 2011, the pervading superstition in Hollywood has been that playing Superman is a ticket up, up, and away to professional or personal troubles.

Starting Over

Why Oprah’s New Shows Are Working

Oprah’s network got off to a weak start. But a new raft of shows highlighting the real lives of black women is giving audiences something new—and something they want.

Just this week OWN, the cable network founded by talk show icon Oprah Winfrey, announced the renewal of three of its top reality shows: Iyanla: Fix My Life, starring Iyanla Vanzant; Life with La Toya, starring La Toya Jackson; and Raising Whitley, starring Kim Whitley, which all feature black women at the center. Erik Logan, president of OWN, credited each show with increasing the network’s ratings overall and propelling the once-struggling cable station to the No. 1 viewing choice for African-American women on Saturday nights.

Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network

Clockwise from top left: Raising Whitley, Welcome to Sweetie Pie's, Oprah Winfrey and Life with La Toya. (OWN (3); AP)

But oh, what a difference two years can make. When OWN debuted in 2011 a amid much fanfare, the weekly lineup had little in common with its current offerings. Names like Shania Twain, Sarah Ferguson, The Judds, and Rosie O’Donnell were the famous faces being touted as Winfrey and team tried to recapture the mainstream and very diverse audience she’d enjoyed for nearly 20 years on her hugely successful The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Interview

Sofia Goes Tabloid

Coppola’s new film, ‘The Bling Ring,’ is out Friday. She talks to Marlow Stern about our obsession with celebrity, her consultation with Kanye West, our shrinking privacy, and more.

Every film by Sofia Coppola, the Oscar-winning auteur behind Lost in Translation with the choice genes, is an event. Her last film, 2010’s Somewhere, centered on an aging movie star who’s deteriorated into an emotional cripple after years of celebrity pampering. Her latest film examines the other side of the tabloid—the consumers who follow celebrities’ every move.

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Sofia Coppola on the set of 'The Bling Ring'.

The Bling Ring is based on the real-life tale of a clique of privileged, celeb-crazy Los Angeles teens who burglarized the homes of several stars—including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Orlando Bloom—between 2008 and 2009. With the exception of Emma Watson, who engages in some very un-Potter like behavior, from smoking heroin to pole dancing, the gang of thieves in Coppola’s film is composed of unknowns. The Bling Ring is visceral, elegantly shot, and acerbic, as it probes the dark side of celebrity obsession.

#YEEZUS

Kanye Hits Basel!

In anticipation of his new album, ‘Yeezus,’ Kanye West hosted a spur-of-the-moment listening party during Art Basel on Wednesday night—and delivered a long speech about the art world. Isabel Wilkinson was there.

The annual Art Basel fair in Basel, Switzerland, is many things: a place where the über-wealthy come to schmooze, a place to see and be seen, and—of course—a place where collectors flock to buy major pieces of art.

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Kanye West surprised many at Art Basel. (Isabel Wilkinson/The Daily Beast)

The last thing you’d imagine during Art Basel? A sweaty, body-to-body crowd around a stage, screaming at each other in anticipation of a “secret listening party” by Kanye West.

Ghostwriters Unmasked

You’ll Never Guess What They Wrote

Tarantino wrote ‘It’s Pat’? Whedon worked on ‘Waterworld’? The unlikely film credits of Hollywood’s biggest screenwriters.

It’s been a while, but M. Night Shyamalan finally gave us another truly jaw-dropping twist. The celebrated writer of The Sixth Sense (and disparaged writer of pretty much all of his other works) earned what may just be the biggest gasp of his career after revealing that he “ghostwrote” the 1998 teen romantic comedy She’s All That, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachel Leigh Cook.

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Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images

You’re forgiven if you need to a moment to wrap your head around this. The man who brought you “I see dead people,” that hilarious forest creature thing in The Village, and Will Smith’s worst movie to date also brought you the line “What is this, some sort of dork outreach program?” In the film, Prinze played a jock and Cook a nerd who defy the laws of high-school social hierarchy and fall in love—it’s safe to say Shyamalan improved his ability to write twists you never saw coming when he started penning The Sixth Sense.

Attack of the Clones

Emmy Awards’ Dark Horse Nominee

If you didn’t watch BBC America’s clone drama ‘Orphan Black,’ you missed one of the year’s best dramatic performances. Jace Lacob on why Tatiana Maslany deserves an Emmy nod.

If you don’t regularly tune in to shows about global conspiracies, illegal medical research, and genetically identical clones, you may be forgiven for not watching Orphan Black, the serpentine Canadian-American science fiction drama that wrapped up its first season earlier this month on BBC America. (Season 2 will air in 2014.)

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Tatiana Maslany, the star of 'Orphan Black.' (Steve Wilkie/BBC America)

But not watching this compelling and surprisingly emotional cult drama—created by Graeme Manson and John Fawcett—means that you missed out on one of the year’s most intense and astonishing television performances. In Orphan Black, Tatiana Maslany delivers a daredevil turn, playing no less than seven different roles, each one with their own mannerisms and secrets.

Yeezy Uncensored

Kanye Said What?

To promote his new album, ‘Yeezus,’ Kanye West sat down with The New York Times for a lengthy, must-read Q&A. Here are the craziest quotes.

The New York Times’s pop-music critic, Jon Caramanica, sat down with controversial rapper-producer-fashionista Kanye West at Shangri-La Studio out in Malibu, California, for a highly amusing conversation that spanned several hours over three days in late May and early June. The pair covered a wide range of topics, including West’s upcoming album, Yeezus, out June 18, the Taylor Swift fiasco, his baby with Kim Kardashian, and how he’s the next Steve Jobs.

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Kanye West performs at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the Watch the Throne tour, November 3, 2011. (Kyle Gustafson, Washington Post/Getty Images)

Here are craziest Kanye West quotes from the must-read interview:

Jimmy Fallon’s supercut is the best thing ever.

One, two, three, and to the four. Snoop Doggy Dogg and ... Brian Williams is at the door?

Has the veteran newsman traded the anchor desk for the recording booth? Several videos bouncing around the Internet last week made it seem like Williams was bringing his trademark gravitas to the hip-hop game, but it was actually just the latest viral success from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

‘Bling Ring’ Star

Paris Is Back

Hilton has a cameo—as herself, naturally—in ‘The Bling Ring,’ out Friday. She talks to Marlow Stern about being robbed by the group, Kim Kardashian, her new album for Lil Wayne’s Cash Money Records, and more.

Remember Paris Hilton?

The heiress-reality star-businesswoman hasn’t been regular tabloid fodder of late, but she was all anyone would talk about in the mid-to-late aughts. The stories came so fast and furious that the Associated Press even imposed a ban on any coverage of Hilton. It lasted a little over a week.

Paris Hilton

Jakob Studnar/dapd, via AP

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Lately

TODAY'S STORIES

Channing Tatum’s (Hilarious) Music Video

Channing Tatum’s (Hilarious) Music Video

Jimmy Kimmel Live aired a hilarious music video starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Kimmel, and more.

Kanye West

‘Yeezus’’ Quotable Lines

The D-list

Ed Hardy Blames Jon Gosselin For Brand Bomb

Mr. Moms

Father Knows Best

What Retirement?

Life After Porn

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The Talented Mr. Benson

Jace Lacob on the true identity of eager-to-please ad man Bob Benson (James Wolk) on “Mad Men.”

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Outrage as Saatchi Calls Throat-Squeezing ‘Playful Tiff’

Following the shocking pics showing art multimillionaire Charles Saatchi apparently choking his celebrity-chef wife, the gallerist now claims it was just a ‘playful tiff.’ Tom Sykes on the rumors that Saatchi has finally flipped.

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wonderwall

Is This Masturbatory Ad Too Much?

Get your mind out of the gutter! In an undeniably brilliant (and controversial) way to boost name recognition of their brand, the protein drink company 'For Goodness Shakes' has just released this awkwardly prurient ad. Decide for yourself if it goes too far.

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Elsewhere

Fashion Beast

Elsewhere

The Royalist