Alia Shawkat

We've seen plenty of variations on the quest to lose one's virginity in the movies, but Aubrey Plaza's character in The To Do List is putting her own unique spin on the story. About to head to college in 1993, straight-A student Brandy wants a course on one more thing before she gets to her campus: sex. Egged on by her friends (Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele), she aims to gain experience in every, er, act possible. Her target? The sexy lifeguard at her local pool, played by real-life sexy person Scott Porter. The red band trailer gives a lot more detail than the teaser from a few months ago, and we get a look at more stars.

Plaza is perfect for this role, but what I'm most excited about is that this movie is PACKED with my favorite TV and comedy stars: pool manager Bill Hader is caught red-handed with Rachel Bilson by dad Clark Gregg, Connie Britton plays mom, and Donald Glover sports some rad yellow overalls. There's also Andy Samberg and Christopher Mintz-Plasse! My brain hurts! I can't wait for the movie to drop on July 26, so I'll just keep watching the trailer after the jump.

Life is swell for the Wallings and the Ostroffs in the trailer for indie comedy The Oranges. The two West Orange, NJ families are thick as thieves, until the patriarch of the Wallings family (Hugh Laurie) is discovered to be having motel rendezvous with Nina Ostroff (Leighton Meester), the 24-year-old daughter of his best friend (Oliver Platt). The revelation throws a wrench in the families' perfect suburban coexistence. Stern parent-child talks ensue, punches are thrown, and incredibly inappropriately photoshopped Christmas cards are sent out.

It's kind of weird to see Hugh Laurie embodying anything other than House's crippled curmudgeon demeanor. I know he had a career before House, and will presumably after, but it's still an adjustment. Having said that, this trailer has sold me on the movie. The situation seems realistic, but the characters are clever enough to make it heartbreakingly funny, rather than just awkward. It's also got a stellar cast that includes Alia Shawkat, Catherine Keener, and Adam Brody. Watch the trailer for The Oranges when you read more

Alia Shawkat swung through NYC this week on a busy press tour for her new movie Cedar Rapids, which we previewed last month at Sundance. She plays Bree, a prostitute who enjoys a sordid entanglement with Ed Helms's straight-laced insurance salesman character, in the film directed by Youth in Revolt's Miguel Arteta. Shawkat talked about getting up close and personal with Helms and also addressed the long-running rumors about an Arrested Development movie that have regained steam after the series' creator, Mitch Hurwitz, confirmed his involvement. She also had some interesting ideas for her character, Maeby. Check it out.

BuzzSugar: In this film, you're playing a prostitute, which is new territory for you. What drew you to this role?
Alia Shawkat: "I got a call from [Miguel, the director] and he was like, 'Alia, I want you to play a prostitute!' And I was like, 'Ok!' And it kind of went from there. . . She’s a hooker with a heart of gold so it was fun. I got to do some research — not go out on the street! — but watch films with hookers with hearts of gold. And I got to say some weird dirty things.

BS: You also got to do some crazy things. Was that another perk to this role?
AS: Doing the meth and dancing, and doing real meth — no we didn’t do that! It was really fun. That’s what’s so cool about being an actor, you get to live so many different lives. This one upped every character I’ve ever played.

BS: You and Anne Heche were pretty much the main ladies in the film. Did you two take on the boys comedian club together?
AS: I’m used to being around a lot of male comedians, so it is kind of like a boys club in that you have to sort of earn your say. But after they started hanging out with us for a little while and they see we aren’t just like, 'Oh, tee hee that’s funny!' that we’re funnier than them sometimes, then they start to respect us. They’re all very sweet guys, most comedians are. They’re just a little pervvy.

BS: And of course, the leading man was Ed Helms. How was it working with him?
AS: I was expecting Ed to be a lot dirtier in comparison to some of the other comedians I’ve worked with, that are usually pretty dirty. But he’s such a gentleman, an old Southern boy. He's very polite and respectful with women.

To find out who's on Shawkat's list of dream costars and what she'd like to see happen for Maeby, just read more

• Janet Jackson will be talking about her brother in a new primetime special — TV Squad
• The Real Housewives of New Jersey are invading NBC's Mercy. Seriously. — The Ausiello Files
• Ryan Seacrest is letting regular people grab money from celebs for his new show Bank of Hollywood — Vulture
• Here's a guide to all of the guest stars during November sweeps — TV.com
• George Clooney's top 10 movies — Rotten Tomatoes
• CBS picks up five more episodes of Accidentally on Purpose — HitFix
• Michael Jackson's This Is It takes No. 1 on Billboard — Rolling Stone
• Listen to a preview of Adam Lambert's new album — Best Week Ever
• Colin Hanks to play "Jack" to Bradley Whitford's "Dan" — Collider
• Twilight's Rob and Kristen finally talk about each other. Check out snippets from the interview — PopSugar
• Sigourney Weaver and Alia Shawkat sign on for Cedar Rapids — Zap2it
• Prepare for the onslaught of skinny jeans: Kings of Leon are creating their own limited-edition clothing line — Spinner

Don't say you don't make friends on the derby rink. Ellen Page and Alia Shawkat, recent costars in Whip It, have scored a deal to write and produce a TV show for HBO. Another costar from the movie, Sean Tillman (AKA Har Mar Superstar, pictured here), is also collaborating.

The show, called Stitch 'N Bitch, will be about "two painfully cool hipster girls as they relocate from Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood to Los Angeles' Silver Lake enclave in hopes of becoming artists." It sounds obvious who these characters will be based on — both women fit that 'painfully hip' description, but there isn't a confirmation yet that they'll be starring. I'd love to see them in the roles, but also hoping this isn't one of those projects that will cause scheduling conflicts for the Arrested Development movie!