Movies That Don't Need Another Sequel

Studio can't agree on helmer's timeline

(NEWSER) - Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, who smashed the record of biggest opening weekend for a female director, will not return for the sequel, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports. Sources inside and outside Summit Entertainment said the director was “difficult and irrational” and that Summit “didn’t like her.” The official word, released in a joint statement while Hardwicke is on a press tour for Twilight, is that the quick turnaround for filming the sequel simply didn’t work out. More»

Vanity Fair anoints a young generation of leading men

(NEWSER) - They're pretty, they're talented, and they're all the rage. Vanity Fair presents seven hot new young things.

1. Shia LaBeouf: Transformers, Indiana Jones
2. Kevin Zegers: Transamerica, The Jane Austen Book Club
3. Michael Pitt: Dreamers, Last Days, Silk

Want a job? Avoid fine art, according to 'Daily Beast' list

(NEWSER) - Hey, college students: If your life plans include getting an actual job, you may want to avoid the stars of the Daily Beast 's "most useless" majors list. Majors are ranked in terms of employment, taking into account unemployment rates among recent and experienced grads, earnings, and likely job growth this decade. The list contains a few surprises—sure, fine arts won't get you far, but neither will hospitality management:

1. Fine arts (12.6% unemployment among recent grads; recent grads earn an average $30,000)
2. Drama and theater arts (7.8%, $26,000)

Sorry, Transformers fans

(NEWSER) - The summer blockbuster: proof that, when it comes to movies, budget is often inversely proportional to quality. In Time , Everett Rosenfeld and Gilbert Cruz reflect on the worst of the worst:

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Director Michael Bay’s only priority: explosions.
2. Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace: “This is the story of a man with too much power and the terrible things he did”—that is, George Lucas.
3. Sex and the City 2: Our heroes go to the Middle East and “proceed to act closed-minded and condescending.”

'The Dark Knight Rises' is lame ... but far from the worst

(NEWSER) - Drum roll, please: The sequel to The Dark Knight will be named ... The Dark Knight Rises. "How thoroughly underwhelming," complains Katie Calautti for Newsweek —while acknowledging it could be much, much worse. She runs down the 10 most pathetic attempts at creativity in the last 20 years of cinema:

1. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010): So it ... takes naps? What does this even mean? "Is greed better when it’s been awake for a solid 72 hours?"