MTV: Box Office Report

"The Muppets" didn't topple "Twilight" from the top of the box office chart over the holiday weekend, but the movie's arrival is a great excuse nevertheless to run another one of these excellent photos.

CLICK HERE to read my box office report.

"My Week with Marilyn" Interviews

I was captivated watching Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn." Despite what felt like miscasting to me at first, Williams conjures the very essence of the troubled star. She's altogether mesmerizing. I recently sat down with her co-stars Dominic Cooper and Julia Ormand, as well as director Simon Curtis, to speak about the film.

You can watch those interviews RIGHT HERE.

Brad Bird Interview

I sat down with Brad Bird ("The Incredibles") recently to talk about his take on the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, "Ghost Protocol." He quotes Steve Jobs. In turn, I quote Twisted Sister.

You can watch the interview HERE.

"I Melt with You" Interviews

"I Melt with You" is from filmmaker Mark Pellington who directed the video for Pearl Jam's "Jeremy." He also made videos for Anthrax and Sacred Reich (!) back in the day. Among other highlights from my conversations with Pellington and his film's stars, I was able to get Rob Lowe to say "LITERALLY!" (It came up naturally, I promise). You can watch my interview with Lowe and Jeremy Piven HERE and my interview with Thomas Jane and Pellington HERE.

"Carnage" Interviews

Roman Polanski's "Carnage" is one of my favorite films of 2011. The entire thing takes place inside a single New York City apartment as two couples meet to talk about the fight their children were in with each other. I realize that premise sounds fantastically boring. In the hands of a lesser director, or lesser actors, it might have been. Instead, it's superb. "Carnage" (which has been done on stage many times prior to Polanski's film) mines the depths of adulthood, marriage, parenthood, class warfare; it always held my attention, it made me laugh and it made me hungry for cobbler.

You can watch my interview with Christoph Waltz here and my interview with John C. Reilly here.

MTV: "Twilight" Weekend Box-Office Report

"Twilight" fans raced to theaters faster than Jacob running to stop Bella and Edward's wedding and gave "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" the fifth-biggest opening weekend of all time.

The fourth film in the romantic vampires-and-werewolves phenomenon collected $139.5 million domestically (more than $30 million of which was from midnight showings early Friday) for an estimated $283.5 million worldwide haul.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" stands behind only "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" ($169.2 million), "The Dark Knight" ($158.4 million), "Spider-Man 3" ($151.1 million) and 2009's "New Moon" ($169.2 million) on the all-time opening-weekend scorecard. It's worth noting that the "Twilight" grosses haven't relied on pricier 3-D or IMAX tickets like "Potter" or "Dark Knight." The new movie's numbers were within roughly 2 percent of the "New Moon" franchise best and helped propel the series' overall numbers past $2 billion worldwide.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: 'Breaking Dawn' Breaks Records

"Twilight" fans came out in force Friday and made sure "Breaking Dawn" broke records. "The Twilight Saga" may be drawing to a close, but there's nothing close to a slowdown at the box office. Estimates put the Friday numbers for the second-to-last entry in the series at $138 million around the world, as "Breaking Dawn" rolled out in 54 global markets. The domestic box-office received a welcome 11 percent boost from the same period last year, thanks to the legions of "Twilight" fans.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

The Muppets!

The day before my birthday I had the chance to sit down with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Jason Segel (alongside new Muppet Walter), Amy Adams and director James Bobin to talk about this month's "The Muppets." You can watch my interviews HERE.

It was certainly one of those "I can't believe I get to do this" kind of days. Happy Birthday to me!

Interview: Kirsten Dunst

Kirsten Dunst deserves an Oscar nomination this year. In "Melancholia," one of the best films I've seen in 2011, her performance magnificently captures the very essence of depression.

Watch my interview with her HERE.

MTV: 'Vampire Diaries' Casting News

It looks like Paul Wesley's wife won't be the only new love interest arriving in Mystic Falls. E! Online reports that Bonnie will meet a handsome stranger when "The Vampire Diaries" returns from mid-season hiatus. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Box Office Report

The folks at Relativity Media must be feeling as powerful as Olympian warriors. The small distributor celebrated its biggest movie debut ever over the weekend as "Immortals" topped the box office with a better-than-expected $32 million. With future Superman Henry Cavill leading the cast, the 3-D epic set in ancient Greece successfully fended off the latest new releases from Adam Sandler and Leonardo DiCaprio. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Recap: 'Balcoin'

Last night's mid-season finale of "The Secret Circle" put a huge emphasis on that second word in the show's title! During the final moments of "Balcoin," a MAJOR secret was uncovered that has the potential to fundamentally change much of what we learned before now.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: 'Vampire Diaries' Mid-Season Preview

Tyler may still be under the spell of Original Vampire Klaus, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten how to party. I caught up with Michael Trevino, the man behind the show's first successful vampire-werewolf hybrid who doesn't have an English accent, for a chat about tonight's mid-season finale and beyond. Michael answered my questions about Tyler, Klaus, My Morning Jacket, Paul Wesley's wife joining the show and whether Katherine is alive or dead. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Paul Wesley's Wife Joins Vampire Diaries Cast

The hottest show starring two on-screen vampire brothers will soon feature some family relations behind-the-scenes, too. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

MTV: Box Office Report

Two very different heist flicks went head-to-head over the weekend, and in a surprising upset, a rapier-wielding cartoon cat emerged victorious over two high-profile comedians. In a turn of events that was somewhat shocking to Hollywood, Eddie Murphy's return from the land of family-friendly fare alongside Ben Stiller in the PG-13 "Tower Heist" opened behind last weekend's #1 movie, "Puss in Boots." CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

Megadeth's Vic Rattlehead

A little piece I wrote detailing the history of Megadeth's awesome mascot, Vic Rattlehead.

CLICK HERE to read.

Interview: Pixar's John Lasseter

I was able to make a fanboy dream come true a couple of weeks ago when I was invited to spend the day at Pixar Studios. While there I spoke with John Lasseter about how their work on "Cars 2" helped inform some of the things they are doing with the forthcoming "Brave." WATCH HERE.

MTV: 'The Secret Circle' Recap: 'Beneath'

The first season of "The Secret Circle" has paid sly tribute to a number of genre milestones in short order, from "The Craft" to co-executive producer Kevin Williamson's own "I Know What You Did Last Summer" series in some ways. This week's episode, "Beneath," gave us some more great teen movie staples—a road trip, a sexy game of truth-or-dare—while spinning the show's love triangles into a pentagram, to boot. CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

Topher Grace, Stephen Moyer Interview

"The Double" is something of a throwback to Cold War espionage movies. Naturally, journalists have been asking the film's Topher Grace ("Spider-Man 3") and Stephen Moyer ("True Blood") about the genre. One reporter told them his favorite is "3 Days of the Concord" (no, really).

As a result, the pair were justifiably eager to quiz me when I brought up the topic. You know, I say something like, "I'm a big fan of '80s Cold War espionage films" and Moyer says, "What's your favorite films of that time?" with an expression that says, "Yeah, right, well, I've got you now!"

They were impressed when I pulled out 1985's "The Falcon and the Snowman" ('though "Spies Like Us" would've been an answer to rib them right back with) and as a result of my passing their BS-detector test with flying colors, we proceeded to have a fun and lively conversation from there. CLICK HERE to watch.

*Screenshot captures the first moment of their "Oh, wait, he knows what's up!" expressions.

MTV: Box-Office Report

"Puss in Boots" was the #1 movie over the typically soft weekend before Halloween, though it posted the lowest debut for a DreamWorks Animation movie since 2006's "Flushed Away." The 3-D "Shrek" spinoff, featuring the voice of Antonio Banderas in the title role, took in $34 million according to studio estimates. DreamWorks' similarly budgeted "Megamind" opened with $46 million last year. Johnny Depp's "The Rum Diary," which he produced and starred in, was a bomb with just $5 million.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my report.

Album Review: Megadeth

Dave Mustaine and Megadeth stand tall among a small handful of genre-defining bands and as a result, a new Megadeth album is always (for better or worse) going to be compared to the rest of their catalog upon release. So, let’s get that out of the way.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of my review of the brand new Megadeth album, 'TH1RT3EN.'