Hellcats stars Alyson Michalka and Ashley Tisdale stopped by to talk to us on the red carpet of the People's Choice Awards. Alyson told us how much she loves working with the cast of Hellcats and how excited she is about the success of Easy A. Meanwhile, Ashley fills us in on what to expect from her music career, and whether we should expect to see her on an upcoming episode of Glee.
In this week's new DVDs, we have plenty of big releases hitting shelves (just in time for those last-minute stocking stuffers!). Take a look at these three picks.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Gordon Gekko is back! Michael Douglas reprises his role as the moneygrubbing villain in this sequel to the iconic '80s film. This time around, Gekko enters the financial world once more following a long stint in jail. Shia LaBeouf costars as a naive Wall Street kid, who's engaged to Gekko's estranged daughter (Carey Mulligan) and becomes Gekko's mentee of sorts. The movie feels heavy-handed with its message of anti-greed — it's trying a little too hard to be timely — but LaBeouf and Mulligan's chemistry help keep it afloat. DVD extras include a featurette on Gordon Gekko and commentary from director Oliver Stone.
Easy A
Emma Stone turns her charm on for this likeable high school spin on The Scarlet Letter. She stars as Olive Pendergast, a social misfit who gets way more attention than she bargained for when rumors spread that she's sleeping around. Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley costars as a love interest, and Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson step in as Olive's hilarious parents. DVD extras include an audio commentary and gag reel, but the Blu-ray offerings sound a little more enticing (a featurette on '80s movies!).
One more release when you read more
Laughter is the best medicine, but which film brought in the biggest dose this year? 2010 was filled with the ever-popular dude comedy, but there was also a Sex and the City flick and Easy A to prove that guys aren't the only ones getting big laughs. There may not be a standout like last year's The Hangover, but what do you think is the best comedic movie of 2010?
Don't forget to vote on all of my Best of 2010 polls!
Emma Stone was without the company of her newly single costar, Penn Badgley, earlier today as she promoted Easy A in Berlin, Germany. She's coming off a big weekend of hosting SNL, partying with best friend Taylor Swift, and stepping out with rumored boyfriend Kieran Culkin. There's no slowing down for Emma, who was recently cast as Gwen Stacy in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot and has been linked to the big screen remake of 21 Jump Street. We'll be treated to more of her comic talents first, though, as her Crazy, Stupid, Love with sexy costar Ryan Gosling is due in theaters next Spring.
They were women who embraced the scarlet letter; they were 19th century prostitutes. Many of them broke through the countless barriers that women faced back then, according to a book review on Alternet. What liberties did courtesans receive? For starters: earning high salaries, owning property, walking solo in public, and using birth control.
Madams owned huge parcels of land that women in the wild west times weren't allowed to have. Some brothel owners were so wealthy, they even paid for projects to build roads and irrigation systems. In fact, some of them were counted among the richest people in the country. Not only did they have wealth, these scarlet women had great liberties as well. In a time where women had no say against being raped by their husbands, these madams wielded guns and hired policemen to protect their employees from rowdy customers.
Interestingly enough, these jezebels of the 19th century made big strides for the civil rights movement:
It is unlikely that there were more wealthy or powerful black women in nineteenth-century America than Mary Ellen "Mammy" Pleasant and Sarah B. "Babe" Connors. Pleasant was born a slave but became one of the most influential women in early San Francisco. She operated boardinghouses in which wealthy businessmen were paired with prostitutes. With the revenue from her primary business, she invested in mining stock and made high-interest loans to the San Francisco elite. Pleasant also filed suit to desegregate the city's streetcars, making her "the mother of the civil rights movement" in California.
Looks like these women weren't just fancy pieces and were holding their own back then.
No surprises here: moviegoers headed to theaters this weekend to see firsthand whether or not The Social Network is all its cracked up to be. The film took the top spot at the box office, pulling in $23 million in its opening weekend. Behind it was Legend of the Guardians, which actually climbed one spot since last week with $10.8 million, knocking previous champ Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps down to third with $10.1 million.
Right on Wall Street's heels with $10 million was The Town, while Easy A settled into fifth place with $7 million.
I don't know about you, but I winced when I watched Easy A because it reminded me what a savage jungle high school was. While I was watching the movie, the personal finance aspect of the movie jumped out at me (as always). I thought it was interesting that the heroine, Olive, requested gift vouchers from guys as payment for their fake sexual experiences. Receiving cash would've been a better deal, but I'm guessing she insisted on gift vouchers so it wouldn't seem as crass. Cold, hard cash definitely feels more impersonal, but here are some benefits of giving green as gifts:
Olive might feel sleazier, but getting cash has more benefits. To find out what they are, read on.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps lived up to its title at the box office this weekend, taking first place with $19 million. Another newcomer took second place, as animated flick Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole finished with $16.3 million. It narrowly edged out last week's champ, The Town, which took in $16 million in its sophomore weekend.
Emma Stone's Easy A fell to fourth with $10.7 million, while Kristen Bell's You Again debuted in fifth with $8.3 million. Now, the real question is how things will shake up next week with the release of the much buzzed about The Social Network.
This past weekend, I, along with most of Berkeley's teen population, saw Easy A. Starring one of my favorite young actresses, Emma Stone, as Olive Pendergast, the film was thoroughly adorable. I especially enjoyed Olive's scenes at home with her family. Here, she's hanging with her dog on her bed (later she paints the dog's toenails: cute). Do you lounge with your pets on your bed, too, or is that something that's only acceptable on the big screen? 
All hail new movies! My picks for this week, The Town, and Easy A both earned top marks at the box office over the weekend, taking in $23.8 million and $18.2 million respectively. The number three spot also went to a debuting film, Devil, which garnered $12.5 million.
Last week's champ, Resident Evil: Afterlife sunk to fourth with $10.1 million. New animated flick Alpha and Omega rounded out the top five with $9.2 million.
