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After being rung through the rumor mill, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake have finally confirmed that they are engaged, according to New York Magazine.

Timberlake’s grandmother told The Wendy Williams Show that the engagement involved a trip to Montana and a “custom-designed ring,” over the holidays.

There are moments in life when we are all caught between two worlds–checking the score of a Celtics game at a friend’s poetry reading, or reading a sex scene in a novel while squished up against a stranger on the T, for example. These moments are not necessarily enjoyable, but they are almost certainly awkward. “Friends with Benefits” is just that: a great sex scene almost ruined by the sweaty, pudgy arm of the guy sitting next to you.

The movie begins when corporate headhunter Jamie, played by an annoyingly likable Mila Kunis, persuades art director Dylan (Justin Timberlake) to take a job at GQ by showing him all that New York City has to offer. The movie gets off to a shaky start, forcing its rom-com hand—New York! iPads! Quirkiness! Flash mobs!—but once Kunis and Timberlake settle into their roles, there are some genuinely funny moments.

The story continues as you would expect it to (and if you’ve seen No Strings Attached, you will definitely expect it), but the predictability is broken up by bits of clever writing and solid comedic performances from Kunis and Timberlake. Cameos from Emma Stone, Rashida Jones, and Jason Segel offer some unexpected laughs, while Patricia Clarkson appears to be director Will Gluck’s go-to zany/screwed-up mom (Gluck also directed Easy A), and with good reason.

Where the movie fails, though, is in the balance of its two worlds. Half the movie appears to be written by people who actually wanted to make a raunchy comedy, replete with gratuitous nudity and cursing, while the other half was generated by a romantic comedy algorithm. The actors struggle through the more formulaic rom-com scenes—all of the charm in the world cannot help Timberlake deliver a dramatic line. In one of its more ludicrous moments, the movie asks the audience to believe that Mila Kunis is something other than one of the most beautiful people you ever hope to see, a leap of faith that simply cannot be made. And then there is the inexplicable introduction of the father with Alzheimer’s. If it sounds inappropriate, that’s because it is.

In the end, “Friends with Benefits” becomes the exact movie it set out to satirize: sappy, unrealistic, and predictable, but sandwiched between the cheesy lines and the flash mobs (hello, 2007) is a pretty funny movie. It doesn’t break the mold like it wants to, but it succeeds in the most basic aspect of a comedy: sometimes, it makes you laugh.

There is so much potential in “Bad Teacher”, a raunchy comedy starring Cameron Diaz as a gold-digging alcoholic who manages to worm her way into a job as a middle-school English teacher. It has a terrific cast, including Justin Timberlake as an effete substitute with family money, Lucy Punch as Elizabeth’s competent nemesis, and Jason Segel as a mensch gym teacher. It has Diaz playing off-type, as an unlikable, unpleasant and irredeemable bitch. It’s writers cut their teeth writing for “The Office”. It has all the makings of a good summer comedy.

Which is why it’s so frustrating that through the entire two hours the movie never reaches its own potential.

Most of the jokes in “Bad Teacher” are just expected enough and just off their rhythm enough to be dead in the water. And every time the movie seizes on something that works (like a study session in which Diaz’s character throws dodge balls at students when they answer a question incorrectly) it cuts off too early or veers away to a much less funny bit involving Timberlake dry-humping in jeans. In some cases it’s impossible to explain why the joke isn’t funny- at a couple points I almost began to laugh because I knew I should, before realizing that I didn’t actually want to.

Not that the cast doesn’t try. If you had told me in the 1998 that Justin Timberlake was going to become one of the most interesting, original and slyly funny entertainers in Hollywood I would have told you to throw out your N’Sync album and get your head together. Timberlake does his best in this, stripping his character of all humor and self-awareness until he is just a pleasant cipher in a Polo sweater-vest. And British comedian Punch exudes a quiet malevolence- the yin to Diaz’s zany, foul-mouthed yang. But their efforts fall victim to the sub-par writing, and general tone of malaise. While the actors appear to have shown up to work, the director and editor seem to be phoning it in.

My first thoughts after leaving the film was it wasn’t that bad. Worth the $10 at least. But it had the potential for so much more than the vague, forgettable thing it became. I would love to see a movie with Cameron Diaz as a filthy, manipulative sociopath who drives a middle school staff to madness. I just don’t really want to see this one again.

“It sounds complicated to everybody else, but it wasn’t to us.  Honestly, the only thing I was worried about before I said yes to that movie was being asked that question.  I knew at some point we’d have to promote the film and people would say, ‘Oh my God, that’s so weird that you two dated for four years.’  I don’t know what else to say except the truth, which is that we’re friends.  We don’t talk to each other all the time, but we respect each other, and on some level we’ll always love each other – but in our new capacity as friends,” says Justin Timberlake when asked if it was awkward to work alongside his ex-girlfriend Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher. Timberlake opens up about this experience and others in Playboy’s July Interview (issue on newsstands, online at www.playboydigital.com, and on i.Playboy.com Friday, June 17, with the complete interview available at www.playboy.com/timberlake).

The modern day Renaissance man sat down with Playboy Contributing Editor David Hochman to discuss his new summer films – “Bad Teacher” and “Friends with Benefits” – as well as the future of his music career, dating, his days as an ‘N Sync heartthrob, smoking pot and some of the biggest names in the music industry.  Following are selected quotes from the interview:

On filming sex scenes with Mila Kunis for Friends with Benefits: “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t completely awkward.  I couldn’t tell you the number of people in the crew watching me and my bare a*s, but it was a lot.  The producers and I agreed we would shoot a big chunk of the movie before we got down to the sex scenes, which was a good idea.  That allowed Mila and me time to get comfortable…Most of the sex scenes are actually played for laughs, and she’s such a gifted comedian…a lot of the time it was just me making a fool of myself.  You can’t be shy with comedy even when you’re standing there naked.”

On internet stories about his romantic relationships: “None of it’s true, so I shouldn’t even dignify it with an answer.  The thing is, I’m not going to sacrifice my friendships with people who are my co-stars I meet in the business.  I’m not going to avoid spending time with people because someone who doesn’t know me makes assumptions about what’s going on.  That’s bullsh*t…My life is not on the internet.”

On why he tends to date celebrities: “You probably gravitate toward people who understand your scenario.  At the end of the day you just want someone who gets you, who can be a friend.  That’s kind of the point of Friends with Benefits.  As corny as it sounds, the ‘friends’ part counts just as much as the ‘benefits’ part, if not more.”

On whether or not he’s had any “friends with benefits”: “I don’t think I’ve ever had that type of relationship.  I get hooked on every level when I get close to someone.  If you build enough chemistry to want to be intimate like that, someone’s going to catch feelings, and usually it happens quickly.”

On Lady Gaga: “She’s a force…she’s legitimately talented.  I’d love to see her come out with another record a couple of years from now that’s completely different, maybe something Tori Amos could do.  If I were Lady Gaga, I’d do whatever I wanted, which it looks like she’s doing.  She’s just plain old good.  But I don’t know what the future holds for her.  Her sound is so big.  She’s got the outfits and she shocks you, but you kind of wonder how an act that big stays around forever.  That’s why I’m curious to see her mix it up a little.  I think she’ll continue to make interesting music.”

On Justin Bieber: “Justin’s great.  He’s obviously a talented kid.  I just hope he has a good support system, because I think back on myself wearing cornrows.  It’s awkward growing up in front of the public.  Justin’s probably dealing with that on some level now.  Somebody like Usher mentoring him is great because Usher is somebody who’s had a lot of ups and not a down that I can remember.  He’ll teach him that you can’t just ride this out.  You need to have somewhere to go.  You need to have a plan…Otherwise, before you know it, there’s going to be some kid who’s younger than you.  We just live in that age.”

On Prince: “I look at people like Prince, who, to me, is the greatest musician who has ever lived.  He keeps producing, keeps writing, keeps making unbelievable music – all because he’s true to his passion…Everything he says, every note he sings, it’s just like, man, that guy is so far ahead of the rest of us.  One of my best experiences onstage was at his house during a party.”

On Christina Aguilera and other former co-stars from The All New Mickey Mouse Club: “What’s funny is I didn’t know at the time that the people around me would go on to so many great things.  The exception was Christina Aguilera.  She was the prodigy.  She could sing better than the adults who had huge deals at the time.  We always felt she was going to become Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey…I still love to see people from those days making good on their talent.  It’s a special connection.”

On the Jersey Shore cast: “[They are] awkward in an awesome way.  I’ve never seen the show, but I met them backstage at the MTV awards and they were this fearsome group, storming around the hallway.  They looked pretty awesome.”

On American Idol: “It seems the point of American Idol is to find singers who fit America’s mold of what a talented person should be.  That bothers me.  I don’t know whose place it is to tell somebody he or she is good or not.  Everybody is just different.  It shouldn’t be a contest.”

On his Saturday Night Live appearances: “My favorite thing in the world was to make people sing – until I made people laugh.  Then that became my favorite thing in the world.  SNL gave me a place to do that, and all my experiences there have been tremendous.  I think it made people notice me in a different way.”

On when he’ll release new music: “I don’t have a single song ready to go.  People keep asking me when a new song or album is coming out, and I don’t know what to say.  Music is not my focus right now.  It may be someday.  It could happen next month or next year but right now it’s not where it’s at for me.”

On why he hasn’t recently released new music: “Unfortunately, the business of music is what taints an artist’s desire to make music…I love making music.  I honestly love it.  But there is a level where making music becomes a total life-s*cking commitment.  For instance, to do an album and a tour, you have to be absolutely certain that whatever you have to say is from the heart, because you’re going to say it a thousand times – and on nights when you don’t feel like performing.  You need to feel inspiration to get to a level where you’re performing like that.  But I haven’t felt that level of conviction the past few years.  And without that conviction it’s crazy to put yourself out there.”

On his early passion for singing: “Not a lot of 10-year-old Caucasian kids were running around Millington, Tennessee, signing Stevie Wonder and Al Green songs, which were the songs I felt most connected to…I wasn’t cool with the white kids because they thought I wanted to be black.  And I wasn’t cool with the black kids because they thought I wanted to be black.  So I was looked at as a traitor and an intruder or an imposter.  I had to find solace in just being me.”

On pushing his single “SexyBack”: “When I put out the first song, ‘SexyBack,’ radio thought I was a joke.  I couldn’t let that go, so I started calling radio program directors.  I’m pretty tenacious like that.  I was like, ‘This is my record.  Give it a chance’…I’d say, ‘I know it doesn’t sound like me, but just please give the record a two-week period or even a one-week period.  Just let the music get out there’…I was that relentless.”

On the success he experienced with ‘N Sync: “You couldn’t keep what we were doing on the shelves.  It was bigger than bubblegum.  Sometimes I think back on the time we did five nights at Giants Stadium.  That was the moment I just looked around and thought, There’s nowhere for this to go but down.  It’s never going to get bigger than this.”

On ‘N Sync’s female fans: “I hate to disappoint you, but I was the youngest one in the group, so the other guys were getting more of that [girl] action, and they were protective of me…But yeah, the girl stuff definitely was a heavy part of it, and it would play with your mind.  I remember looking down once – we were playing Madison Square Garden for an HBO special – and this girl put her arm out.  She had a mural of me tattooed along her whole arm.  I just remember looking at it and thinking, Holy sh*t, that’s never going to come off.”

On his fashion faux pas: “God, I feel I’ve gone to therapy just to erase some of them.  The cornrows I wore with ‘N Sync.  That was pretty bad.  Britney and I wore matching denim outfits [to the 2001 American Music Awards].  Yeah, another bad choice.  I’d probably pay good money to get some of those pictures off the internet.”

On why he’s been successful: “I think people sometimes don’t pay enough attention to what they do.  I’ve done well, but the reason is pretty simple: I’ve worked my ass off.  Anything I’ve done well has taken many, many hours of preparation.  And then the trick, of course, is making that work look invisible.  The toughest thing a performer can do is make it look as if it comes easy.”

On why some celebrities experience more than 15 minutes of fame: “I think it’s about process.  If you care about the process of what you’re doing, you can care about the actual work.  You’ll stick around.  The other thing is, you always need to be learning something new.  In whatever I’ve done, I’ve always looked at myself as a beginner.  Hopefully I can continue to do that for the next 30 years as I grow into an older man.”

On smoking pot: “Absolutely [I’m a pot smoker]…The only thing pot does for me is it gets me to stop thinking.  Sometimes I have a brain that needs to be turned off.  Some people are just better high.”

On relaxing and enjoying life: “At some point in my life I wish I had learned to say no.  From the beginning of my career, I was a guy who said yes all the time to everything…For years I was constantly chasing, chasing, chasing.  Then I thought, Well, maybe I’m actually running from something rather than chasing something…Who knows?  Whatever it is, I feel I’m just getting to a point in my life where I’m looking around, going, There’s a lot to enjoy if I can just sit still, actually stop and take more time.”

Pop star Justin Timberlake and actress Jessica Biel broke up after dating for several years.

A rep released a statement Thursday night and announced, “Addressing the media speculation regarding Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake’s relationship, we are confirming that they mutually have decided to part ways.”

It continued, “The two remain friends and continue to hold the highest level of love and respect for each other.”

Mila Kunis looked gorgeous in this Elie Saab gown (Media Credit/Mazur, WireImage)

As awards season comes to a close, I was prepared last night with popcorn in one hand and my picks for the office Oscar pool in the other. Next to winning the pool, the best part of the awards show is the red carpet fashion, for better or for worse.

Looks I love

Mila Kunis wore a beautiful light lavender dress with a plunging neckline and lace detailing by the Elie Saab Spring 2011 Collection. Jennifer Lawrence was the first on the red carpet and set everyone up for great fashion choices throughout the evening. Her red, fitted Calvin Klein dress showed off her amazing figure. I was impressed with and am obsessed with Giuliana Rancic’s bold print, dramatic gown that was designed by none other than “Project Runway” winner Christian Siriano. Wearing a maroon, backless, lace Dolce & Gabbana gown, Scarlett Johansson made quite the impression on the red carpet.

Notable looks

These fashion icons are getting mixed fashion reviews around the globe. All of the dresses are fabulous, but their stylists could have done a little more to make these looks really work. Gwyneth Paltrow wore a modern silver metallic Calvin Klein gown. The dress is gorgeous, but the shiny color would have been more age appropriate for a younger starlet. Halle Berry looked amazing, as usual, in a nude, jewel-encrusted Marchesa gown, but this dress would have popped more against her skin if it were a different color. Cate Blanchett wore a unique lilac and mustard colored piece by Givenchy. I appreciate Cate’s choice for something different, but the jury is still out as to whether the front of the dress was a bib made for my four-year-old cousin. Jennifer Hudson’s dress last night was the best PR move Weight Watchers could ever have. She looked absolutely breathtaking (and thinner than ever) in Versace, but she could have used a little more coverage in the cleavage area.

Marisa Tomei's gown was a prom nightmare (Media Credit/A. Rodriguez, WireImage)

They could’ve done better

Nicole Kidman’s Christian Dior gown from the Spring 2009 Collection was too structured, too white, too detailed, too much! Reese Witherspoon always looks beautiful, but her black and white Armani Prive gown and Barbie-inspired high ponytail may not have been her best choice; we all know she can do better. Marisa Tomei’s prom nightmare, a vintage gown by Charles James, should have stayed in the closet. Not only was the dress ill-fitting, but the color was far from flattering and the poofy taffeta bottom was, well, taffeta. After all of the build-up, I found the awards show less than exciting, and some of the fashion followed suit, including Amy Adams’ deep navy gown (again). Even with seven costume changes, Anne Hathaway’s surprise singing was more of a standout than her fashion picks.

Best accessories

I can’t possibly write about the Oscars without noting Natalie Portman. She looked amazing last night  in a Rodarte violet silk chiffon dress. She again chose to wear stunning accessories from Tiffany & Co., which turned out to be quite the good luck charm! Speaking of hot mamas, the hottest accessory for a man to have last night was undoubtedly his mother. Russell Brand opted for the non-traditional dark blue suit with his mother by his side (wife Katy Perry was on her world tour). Mama Timberlake by son Justin’s side has this girl dreaming that Justin’s relationship with Jessica Biel will soon be over. He looked amazing in his Tom Ford tailored tuxedo; so ladies, if you need a date to next year’s Oscars, maybe he’s your ticket — fingers crossed. Until next awards season!

Jamie Foxx only achieves mediocrity with his release of his album Best Night of My Life on December 21. This release falls in the gray area on the spectrum of R&B albums. The whole album does not stand out as drastically different, yet only some songs fall into the same format of previous albums. Most likely, Foxx fans will only be compelled to give it a shoulder shrug after playing it.

“Winner” was released earlier this year and received a lot of radio play, making it the only song on the album sure to get your head bobbing. The song features T.I. and Justin Timberlake and was used during promotions for the 2010 NBA Playoffs. If it does not stand out as a lovable track then it is at least recognizable as a commercial hit.

Unfortunately the rest of the album has lackluster tracks that are quite forgettable after a first listen. The beginning songs feel more like a hip-hop album versus R&B and feature many rappers including Drake, Ludacris and Rick Ross. The last half of the album is mostly ballads with only Foxx singing on the tracks. Some songs deviate from the signature sensual style that Foxx has established with his last two albums, which works great for songs like “Winner,” but is unfortunate for “Freak.” “Freak” maintains Foxx’s voice and uses little auto-tune, but the techno-style beat of the track distracts from the lyrics. It stands out from the style of the rest of the album and might provoke a skip from Foxx fans.

Moving away from ballads and songs that prominently feature his voice, Foxx uses more auto-tune and up-tempo beats for many songs on this album. He begins the album with a cover of Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be.” While the song has an old school feel, Foxx quickly dissipates any hopes of a soulful album by auto-tuning his voice for the intro. He follows the intro with the track from which the album gets its name, “Best Night of My Life.” This track is more of an expected Foxx style and gives some familiarity to his fans.

His album Unpredictable still stands as his best release yet, with many popular singles including “Unpredictable” and “DJ Play a Love Song.” Foxx’s release of Intuition was disappointing, but the singles “Blame It” and “Just Like Me” carried the album and helped it to still get some positive attention.

Foxx has released “Fall For Your Type” featuring and written by Drake as his first single on the Best Night of My Life album. Some have already heard Drake’s unofficial version of the song, which Foxx used as a reference track. The single sounds like Drake’s signature style and has the unfortunate challenge of overcoming perceptions that Drake’s version is better than Foxx’s.

Best Night of My Life is a decent album but Foxx has not reached the bar that he set for himself with Unpredictable. If fans are looking for a classic Foxx R&B album then they may want to look elsewhere, but he may be attracting a new group of listeners with the variety of music styles present on this album.

Many celebrities, such as Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Usher, signed off from Facebook and Twitter on World AIDS Day on December 1, promising to quit social networking until Keep a Child Alive’s “Buy Life” charity campaign had raised a total of $1 million. “I’m digitally dying tonite for WORLD AIDS DAY, this is my last tweet & testament,” he wrote.

However, Usher was back on Twitter when the charity had only raised $299,000 on December 5th. He tweeted on November 30th, “I’m digitally dying tonite for WORLD AIDS DAY, this is my last tweet & testament. Please visit http://bit.ly/dBDIai to BUY MY LIFE back now.” And, he started tweeting again on the 5th. Some fans were very excited to have him on Twitter again and others were wondering if he could tweet although other fellow celebrities have been still digitally dead.

Mila Kunis graces the cover of NYLON Magazine’s December/January issue. Here are excerpts from the interview:

On “Black Swan:” “It was the most intense training I’ve ever had in my life, and probably will have for anything. I lost 20 pounds, so I went down to 95 pounds. I weigh 117 usually, like today. I looked like Gollum [from The Lord of the Rings].”

On shooting “Friends with Benefits” with Justin Timberlake: “I’ve never seen people in my life with so little respect [as the paparazzi]… when we were filming on the street in New York it was pure and utter insanity. ”

On her early acting days: “It was just play-pretend. Trust me, I did not have a clue what I was doing. It wasn’t a job for me, I didn’t think anything other than a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a fireman, or a policeman was a legitimate job because when you’re little those are the things you see. It wasn’t until I was 20 that I thought I could actually make it a career.”

Check out additional photos and exclusive outtakes of the actress at, nylonmag.com.

Many celebrities, including Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Ryan Seacrest, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Elijah Wood, Serena Williams, Janelle Monae and Swizz Beatz are getting ready for a new campaign called “Digital Life Sacrifice,” which will benefit Alicia Keys’ AIDS charity, “Keep a Child Alive.” The charity organization was started in 2003 in order to support people in Africa and India who are affected by HIV/AIDS.

This is how this works. They will sign off social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter starting Wednesday, which is World AIDS Day. And, they will not come back until the charity campaign raises $1 million.

Alicia Keys told the Associated Press, “It’s really important and super-cool to use mediums that we naturally are on.”

It wasn’t all that long ago I swore to my friends that I would never join Facebook.

It was 2004. I was a freshman in college, in a new city. Facebook was only available to college students, and only some colleges had a network. It was maybe not in its infancy, but definitely in its childhood, not yet ubiquitous, and I was certain I would never need it. I thought it was a grasping ploy at popularity, an excuse to count how many friends you have, stalk that guy in your French Literature class, and yak about your love of soccer, politics and "The Boondock Saints". I thought it was creepy, and a flash in the pan besides. I was too cool for Facebook.

I joined before my first semester ended.

Now I read my boyfriend’s Twitter page and link to my colleagues on LinkedIn. My mother is my Facebook friend, and writes comments on my status updates. You’re not really friends with someone unless you’re friends on Facebook.

Does Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg know what he hath wrought? He has publicly claimed that he will not see "The Social Network," about the formation of Facebook and the making of his riches and household name. But how could he not see that the very fact that the film exists says volumes about the importance of what he created?

Well in any case I think it’s Zuckerberg’s loss. Because "The Social Network" is a beautiful, intricate drama that defies expectations and portrays not just the making of a web site, but the steel, pulsating core of my generation.

It would have been easy for the film to falter. How do you create a movie about a bunch of guys who sit in front of a computer screen and then sue each other? How do you write a drama about one morally ambiguous nerd who writes code the whole movie? Thank God we have the masterful team of director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin, who brings his patented rat-a-tat dialogue and relentless wit.

Sorkin and Jesse Eisenberg (who plays Zuckerberg) portray the Harvard student as incredibly intuitive about the cultural and social structures of Ivy League institutions, but completely clueless as to how to navigate them, or any social structure. At the beginning he’s dumped by his girlfriend Erica (Rooney Mara), who’s had enough of his egotistical ramblings. "Having a relationship with you is like climbing a StairMaster!" she exclaims, after he taunts her about going to Boston University.

After he wanders home and gets himself good and drunk, Zuckerberg codes a web site in one night, a nasty little piece called Facemash which takes pictures of female Harvard students and pairs them, asking young Harvard men to judge who was hotter. Though his prank gets him in trouble with the school and makes him a pariah to the young ladies of Harvard, it also gets him an assignment from upper-echelon Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (both played by Armie Hammer), twins who want to create a dating and social site specifically for Harvard students.

The movie tries to remain as open as possible to whether or not Zuckerberg actually stole the brothers’ idea to make Facebook, or simply improved on their half-baked plan- my own uninformed opinion leans towards the latter, though he was certainly not forthright about what he was doing.

He partners with his best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), a financial brain who eventually sued Zuckerberg after he was pushed out of the company. Garfield takes what could be a one-note role, a gives a nuanced and delicate performance. He delivers each of Sorkin’s lines like he’s tasting them, feeling their textures and shapes.

As a minor character says in the film, every creation myth needs a Devil. This one takes the delightful form of Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, creator of Napster and Internet playboy who both takes Facebook public and destroys its soul. Timberlake has limited range as an actor, but what he does he does well. He’s a pied piper in this movie, a maniacal ghoul who knows just what to say to hook Zuckerberg and push away the more cautious Saverin, though the movie also makes the point that Zuckerberg was well on his way to being corrupted all by himself.

The Winklevoss brothers (or the Winklevii, as Zuckerberg hilariously calls them) got a $65 million payout from their own lawsuit (small potatoes when you consider the billions that Facebook is now worth). Saverin, who’s painted as the far more wronged party, received an undisclosed settlement. These facts are less important in the movie than the idea of money itself, and of worth. It’s stated several times that Zuckerberg doesn’t care about money- he cares only for his creation, that he’s made something cool that people like. His longing for human connection, even as he spurns it with cynicism and condescension, was what inspired Facebook.

Fincher understands, and is able to convey, our brave new world in a way I don’t think any other director has. And he’s able to balance both the central themes of greed and alienation and the need to make a movie about computer programmers…you know…interesting. "The Social Network" moves at a good clip, and even has a few action-esque sequences, but Fincher never jumps off the cliff of melodrama. I don’t think that all of the events in the movie actually happened, but I can believe that they might have happened. His delicacy with the plot is matched by a truly wonderful score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, which keeps the pacing and adds a lyrical quality to Sorkin’s dialogue.

The entire point of Facebook is to create a low-pressure way of becoming someone’s friend — of making a connection with them. You reach out, you "poke" them, then retreat to see if they return the sentiment. Your profile states your existence in the world. Here I am. This is what I like. These are my friends. This I what I have to say. That sense of simultaneous connection and separation colors everything in my generation’s social world. We move along together, parallel, but rarely touching in any real way.

Though the words "best movie of the year" stick in my throat as trite and kind of silly (how does one rank these things, anyway?) I will say that this was my most enjoyable experience at the theater this year.

In fact I plan to write a status update about it after this publishes.

After all, everyone needs to know.

Reviews are starting to trickle in and “The Social Network” is looking like a hit. Metacritic and Rotten tomatoes are showing that critics have given the film extremely high marks. (Look for Blast’s review of “The Social Network” Thursday).

Admittedly, when word of a Facebook movie came out, I was beyond skeptical. My thoughts were pretty similar to when they announced movies coming out about “Stretch Armstrong” and “Battleship.” It seems like a blatant attempt to cash in with a franchise that has built-in appeal. With 500 million users, most of the world is affected by Facebook. But a movie? Boring.

My ears perked up when it was announced that Aaron Sorkin was writing the film. Sorkin is known for writing “The American President,” “A Few Good Men,” and winning about a dozen Emmy Awards for creating “the West Wing.” So the man’s got cred.

Then came David Fincher. Yeh, the one that directed “Fight Club,” “Zodiac,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” So now the movie’s got tons of appeal.

The film also sports an impressive cast. Justin Timberlake needs no introduction; Jesse Eisenberg starred in Zombieland and Andrew Garfield is the next Spider-Man. So that adds to the pie.

But impressive reviews, a great writer and director and an appealing cast–is that enough to lure viewers to a film about Facebook? We’ll find out next weekend.

The film has an attractive marketing campaign that has me intrigued every time I see the trailer, and now that critics are calling it “this generation’s ‘Network,” so I’m in, when a year ago I thought it was a lame idea. Has the finalized “Social Network” got you in its grasp yet?

This weekend Justin Timberlake was named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year during a ceremony at Harvard University, the BBC reports. Hasty Pudding is the oldest collegiate theatrical organization in the US. Each year, the society picks a famous actor and actress to honor and roast; an ongoing tradition since 1951. Timberlake became the first male singer to win the award, joining previous honorees that read like a "Who’s Who” in Hollywood: Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and more, reports Rolling Stone.

“This is cooler than any Grammy or Emmy or anything I could have ever thought of. Thank you,” said Timberlake. Members of Harvard’s Hasty Pudding theatrical troupe poked fun at the Grammy winner by having actors impersonate Britney Spears and other ‘NSync members. The pop singer, songwriter, actor and producer was named by the group as “an accomplished artist who is now widely considered one of pop culture’s most influential entertainers.”

Timberlake donned pink high heels and a bra with tiny presents on each cup, a nod to "Dick in a Box," by the end of the ceremony. “This year’s Man of the Year is a triple threat," the Hasty Pudding troupe announced at the ceremony. "He sings, he dances and he goes straight to DVD." Timberlake hasn’t released an album since 2006′s FutureSex/LoveSounds and starred in the almost-straight-to-DVD “The Open Road,” so the reason he got chosen is most likely the fact that Timberlake plays Napster creator Sean Parker in the upcoming David Fincher-directed and Aaron Sorkin-penned film "The Social Network", which is based on founding of Facebook and was mostly filmed in Boston and Cambridge.

The compilation album featuring musical performances from last Friday’s Hope For Haiti Now telethon debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. The album sold 171,000 units and currently sits atop the iTunes top albums charts as well. "Hope For Haiti Now" also holds the honor of being the first digitally-exclusive album to be top of the charts. The charity album (artists donate their share in the proceeds to relief organizations) features twenty songs by artists such as Sting, Jennifer Hudson, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Beyonce. Three of these singles have already cracked the iTunes top twenty, "Hallelujah" by Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris (2), "Lean On Me" by Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, and Keith Urban (12), and "Breathless" by Taylor Swift (19).

"Hope For Haiti Now" racked up these impressive sales numbers after only being available for pre-order beginning last Thursday and furthermore was the "biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history" according to MTV.com. The album proceeds benefit the following organizations: Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation, and the Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the status of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel’s relationship, and honestly, I don’t have a clue either.

On Wednesday, People.com reported that despite rumors, the couple remains together. But even People’s sources were a little ambiguous.

“They’re together,” an insider told People. “They’re not breaking up. Any time they spend time apart it’s because they’re working.”

Than again, another anonymous source said, “Things have been a bit up in the air recently. They’ve been spending more time apart “" more time with each of their friends, and they’ve been reevaluating [their relationship].”

But the New York Daily News had a very different story. Apparently, Justin was a cheater and Jessica was clingy.

“Justin had to leave dinner once because Jessica was calling him incessantly. They got into a huge screaming match over the phone about how she’s always “Ëœchecking up’ on him,” a source said. “She’s extremely needy and is always keeping tabs on him.”

And you’ll probably remember when Lindsay Lohan’s Twitter account was “hacked” and showed a picture of JT dancing with an unknown blonde.

Of course, another source said, “There’s no way of knowing if it’s a firm breakup, because with them it’s so hot and cold.”

So what’s REALLY going on? Your guess is as good as mine. I’d like to think he’s not a cheater and she’s not a clinger, but if their blabbermouth friends don’t even know, who does?

Tina Fey won an Emmy Award on Saturday as the best guest actress in a comedy for her hilarious impersonations of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

Is Tina Fey an Emmy winner? You betcha. Fey received an Emmy Award on Saturday for her impersonation of Republican vice presidential contender Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live.”

Accepting the award, Fey thanked producer Lorne Michaels and her parents, “lifelong Republicans, for their patience.”

Fey’s award was the “Creative Arts” for technical and other achievements portion of the Primetime Emmys. Fey is also up for best actress in a comedy for “30 Rock” during next Sunday’s Emmy Awards Ceremony.

According to the Associated Press, Justin Timberlake won best guest actor in a comedy series, also for “SNL.” Michael J. Fox won the guest actor award in a drama for his appearance on “Rescue Me,” and Ellen Burstyn won the drama guest award for “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

The two-hour “pre Emmy” ceremony was hosted by Kathy Griffin. The AP reported a shorter version of the ceremony airs Friday on E! at 1 p.m.

There’s yet another superhero movie coming out soon called The Green Lantern (as if anyone’s ever heard of that, but Superman and Spiderman are way done, and there are only so many excuses producers can use to make a movie with a hunk in a spandex suit.)

But the movie itself isn’t the center of the gossip – it’s who will play the main character, hot-shot pilot Hal Jordan? ‚ So far, according to Laineygossip.com, the major contenders are as follows: ‚ Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake, and Henry Cavill.

Ryan Reynolds apparently doesn’t belong on this list because he’s scheduled to star in Deadpool, but maybe he’d back out for a bigger offer? ‚ There’s no doubt he looks the part (all of these guys do) but his dramatic acting skills have yet to be truly tested.

Bradley Cooper – well, he’s really good at playing an arrogant douche bag, so I guess that fits.

Justin Timberlake – Has anyone seen Austin Powers? ‚ Is it not obvious to everyone that this kid cannot act?? ‚ Sure, he can pull off an SNL skit, but that doesn’t mean you throw him up on the big screen for a summer blockbuster!

Henry Cavill – if you guys don’t know who this is, he’s the tall, dark and British hunk on the TV show The Tudors. ‚ He was also the first choice of Stephenie Meyer to play her brooding vamp, Edward Cullen, but was passed over because he was too old.

Which brings me to my next point: ‚ Don’t these guys all seem just a tad….OLD??? ‚ I mean, all of these guys are hovering by their thirties, and if I am asking for a hero, he’s gotta be at least 25 or younger. ‚ Anyone heard of Shia LeBeouf? ‚ Emile Hirsch? ‚ Hayden Christensen?

Who do you think deserves to star in The Green Lantern?

UPDATE:

The decision may have been made! ‚ In a recent Tweet, Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man 2 (now filming) which stars Scarlett Johansson, revealed that “Green Lantern visited the set.” ‚ And who else might visit the set where Scarlett is working than her brand new husband and Green Lantern contender, Ryan Reynolds?

What do you think – is Favreau trying to get us all riled up, or could he really be spilling the beans?

Research from security firm McAfee shows that some celebrities are just dangerous to Google and search for around the web because of the litany of fake websites out there that try to infect your computer with viruses and malicious code as you innocently seek out wallpaper and screensavers of your favs.

Brad Pitt leads the pack on a list that includes Jessica Alba and‚ Katherine Heigl.

“Fans searching for “Brad Pitt,” “Brad Pitt downloads,” and Brad Pitt wallpaper, screen savers and pictures have an 18% chance of having their PCs infected with online threats, such as spyware, spam, phishing, adware, viruses and other malware,” McAfee said. “Cybercriminals are using A-listers’ names and images, like Beyoncƒ© and Justin Timberlake, to lure Internet users who surf the Web for the latest gossip, screen savers and ringtones to “fake” Web sites that look legitimate.”

The list includes:

1. Brad Pitt – When “Brad Pitt screensavers” was searched, more than half of the resulting Web sites were identified as containing malicious downloads with spyware, adware and potential viruses.

2. Beyoncƒ© – Inputting “Beyoncƒ© ringtones” into a search engine yields risky Web sites that promote misleading offers to gather consumers’ personal information.

3. Justin Timberlake – Interest in his high-profile relationships makes him an easy target for spammers and hackers. When searching for “Justin Timberlake downloads” one Web site advertised free music downloads that were flagged as directly leading to spam, spyware and adware.

4. Heidi Montag – “The Hills” star is a popular search term when it comes to searching for wallpaper. A host of wallpaper Web sites contained hundreds of malware-laden downloads.

5. Mariah Carey – Spammers and hackers are using Mariah Carey screen saver Web sites to link to other sites proven to contain spyware, adware and other threatening downloads.

6. Jessica Alba – Red-ranked risky sites were identified when searching for “Jessica Alba” and “Jessica Alba downloads.” The sites contained hundreds of malicious downloads, links to other bad sites, misleading offers to gather information, and a high number of spam emails when an email address was provided.

7. Lindsay Lohan – This young Hollywood starlet is as dangerous to search online as she is famous. Searching for “Lindsay Lohan downloads” resulted in several dangerous Web sites laden with hidden adware.

8. Cameron Diaz – Cybercriminals use download Web sites related to Cameron Diaz’s image to link to other harmful sites containing spyware.

9. George Clooney, Rihanna – The technology found one Web site embedded with hundreds of dangerous wallpaper and photo downloads after inputting “George Clooney downloads.” “Rihanna pictures” was also a risky search term, as McAfee identified a site that spammed its test email address.

11. Angelina Jolie – When “Angelina Jolie downloads” was searched, the software highlighted a risky site with 978 hidden malware-infected wallpaper and photo downloads, as well as links to other potentially dangerous URLs.

12. Fergie – A Fergie screen saver site was flagged as offering 111 risky downloads that could seriously compromise a PC’s privacy with unwanted spyware and adware.

13. David Beckham, Katie Holmes – The “David Beckham” search term generated a great deal of wallpaper and screen saver downloads veiled with malware. Consumers should also exercise caution when searching for “Katie Holmes” online – one download site advertised free screen savers that, if downloaded, would infect your computer with malicious programs like spyware.

15. Katherine Heigl – Hollywood’s big headliner in recent years is now susceptible to Internet lurkers too. “Katherine Heigl” was searched and a site was identified containing hundreds of malware-infected pictures.

‚ ”Cybercriminals employ numerous methods, yet one of the simplest but most effective ways is to trick consumers into infecting themselves by capitalizing on Americans’ interest in celebrity gossip,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee’s Product Development and Avert Labs. “Tapping into current events, pop culture or commonly browsed sites is an easy way to achieve this. And because of Americans’ obsession with following celebrities’ lifestyles, they are an obvious target. We have to take precautions in casually navigating the Web since many subtle sites may be rife with malware for consumers’ computers.”

The list was compiled using McAfee SiteAdvisor, which can be downloaded for free at‚ www.mcafee.com/siteadvisor.