If you're struggling with your history homework, you're in luck: James Franco is here to give you step-by-step instructions on how to make it work.

In an exclusive clip from Franco brings his real-life professorial skills to good use in a tutoring session with a student played by Emma Roberts. Franco's character, Mr. B, tells Roberts' character, April, how to write a history paper with these easy steps:

Step 1: Turn off your cell phone.

Step 2: Choose your historical event.

Step 3: Explain why it happened.

Step 4: There is no step four.

Easy enough, right? But there's a flaw in Mr. B's system, according to April: "What if I don't think there's a reason for something happening? I do things all of the time for no reason."

"That's because you're young and you don't know why you do things," Mr. B answers, "but there's always a reason."

April still doesn't buy it. "If you wanted to," she posits, "couldn't you say that everything that's ever happened is because of one thing that happened at the very, very beginning of time?"

"Yeah," replies Mr. B, "if you want to be a smart-ass."

Apparently, Mr. B likes smart-asses, as he adds a bonus-step to his list of instructions. Watch the clip and see that step in action for yourself.

"Palo Alto," based on a collection of short stories written by Franco, is directed by Gia Coppola and stars Franco, Roberts, Chris Messina and Val Kilmer.

Jennifer Lopez's list of papis is still growing. After tapping French Montana to appear on her latest single the singer grabbed Big Sean and Tyga for a remix engineered by DJ Khaled.

For the remix Khaled flip's Detail's original beat, delivering a track that sounds vastly different from the original. Only J. Lo's "I Luh Ya Papi" refrain remains intact.

Could J. Lo also be planning to release a visual for her remix? In March she dropped a video for "I Luh Ya Papi" that found her and a few girlfriends having fun with some role reversal. The clip begins with the Bronx-born singer/actress waking up in the bedroom of a mansion, littered with half-naked men.

French Montana managed to keep his clothes on the video though.

J.Lo's upcoming album is currently untitled, but she's revealed that additional features will include Maxwell and Wiz Khalifa.

An engineer who worked with Jay Z during the Roc-A-Fella era is trying to extort the rapper and his label for payment. Chauncey Mahan claims that he's been holding onto some of Hov's master recordings which were previously thought to be lost, but Jay's longtime producer, Just Blaze, is not amused by Mahan's stunt — especially since backup copies of those recordings are safely in storage.

Mahan is reportedly hoarding master tapes that were created between 1998 and 2002. Last week he contacted Live Nation and threatened to auction them off if he wasn't paid a $100,000 "storage fee," but the LAPD shut down that transaction when they detained him near a storage facility.

Just Blaze, who worked with Jay during those recording sessions, had more than a few words to say about Mahan on Twitter, revealing that he ruined plenty of music, but wouldn't win this battle.

"Chauncey stayed effing up. Big part of the reason Hip and I brought in Guru. This guy ruined every tape transfer for the Dynasty Album," Just Blaze tweeted. "If you listen to Bleek's version of "is that your b***h" you'll notice it's in mono. Why? Bc Chauncey. Lol. If u listen to "get your mind right" from Dynasty, You'll notice all the choruses after the first one fall in the wrong places. Bc Chaunce."

One fun fact though: Mahan's constant errors made room for Young Guru to make his mark.

"We had to re record "streets is talking" vox. Why? Bc Chauncey. The Dynasty intro sample flanges the entire time.. Guess why!? Chauncey. We eventually ...

Puppets, on the whole, are pretty freaking creepy— and they become even more horror-tastic when paired with some dirty rock 'n' roll. Exhibit A: the Black Lips' new video for "Funny," off of their recently released album, Underneath the Rainbow.

As with much of the Lips' music, there's a dark kind of dissonance to "Funny": a clap-along chorus ("I don't feel so corny now/ Now that the worlds turned upside down!") mixed with a kind of manic, watch-the-world-burn energy, topped off, finally, with Cole Alexander's rasping, almost pleading voice.

Add a cadre of puppets into the mix — and let the Lips have their way with the stringed backup dancers — and you have something that's, in a word, kind of disturbing.

The video sees the band pouring out of a car, clapping as they shamble toward the entrance to the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre in Los Angeles. They hit the stage then, an incongruous kind of scene in which the unsmiling band strums into the camera, surrounded by leering harlequins, dancing guitars playing themselves, wide-eyed and undulating jellyfish and mini marching band leaders.

The assemblage of puppets grows and grows — skeletons and drums and dancing ladies — more than a few molested by Alexander, until the band wraps up the track and piles into the van once more. Bad trip over and forgotten -- except by the audience, whose dreams will be wholly haunted.

A thoroughly Black Lips video kind of video, "Funny" matches the gleeful darkness implicit in previous releases "Boys In The Wood," and Read More →

It was cute while it lasted, but Jennifer Lawrence's pixie cut is officially dunzo.

A photo of J-Law taken this week shows that the actress's hair has quietly completed its treacherous, squirrely, post-pixie grow-out and is now safe in the Land of Bob:

And while Jennifer didn't hang on to her super short crop long enough for it to make its way into a movie, this new cut — choppy and chin-skimming, with lots of layers — is so cute that it really deserves some screen time. We can even think of several roles it would be perfectly suited for!

A Roaring Twenties Period piece
She's done the Katniss braid, the big retro updo, and the delicate finger waves of Depression-era glamour, but a sleek bob a la "The Great Gatsby" is one look that J-Law has yet to rock. So before she grows it out, couldn't we please put her in a drop-waist dress and see her dance the Charleston?

A Zombie Thriller
Fact: this no-nonsense chop is the favored hairstyle of lady survivors in Zombieland, flattering and feminine yet difficult for the undead to tangle their nasty fingers in. (Just look how well it works on Maggie!) Plus, we already know that Jennifer rocks the survivalist movie genre, so.

Joan of Arc
How has nobody thought of this before? It's brilliant! It's necessary! Of course Jennifer Lawrence needs to play the martyred warrior maiden of 15th century France, and right now, her hair is perfect for it. Make this happen, Hollywood.

A Gender-Bending Remake of "No ...