Many a critic is calling Scarlett Johansson's turn in — Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut about a porn addict who struggles with real-life romantic relationships — her best performance in years. And, as the actress told MTV News recently, it may be because she not only took so much joy out of playing a gum-clacking, dime of a girlfriend, Barbara, but also because she could relate to her.

"I did love playing this character, but I think partly because I really sympathized with her," Johansson said. "I think that the character has a ton of conviction and really does believe that the best way forward for both these people is just for Jon to fit in that little box and just go with the flow. And I think, you know, we're all guilty of that. I just played her with as much conviction as I think she has. It was just an absolute blast."

Movie-goers may spot some similarities between the film's two lovebirds and the cast of a certain MTV reality series, but Johansson insisted she didn't draw any inspiration from Snooki, JWOWW or Sammi.

"That voice is one I grew up with. I grew up in New York City, and Jersey is just the light at the end of the tunnel for us," she explained. "It's definitely something I can kind of slip on and off."

In fact, Johansson went so far as to claim "Jersey Shore" ignorance.

"I can't understand — I don't know what it is," she said. "Is it like 'The Real World'?"

Co-star Gordon-Levitt tried to explain ...

In the fourth and final segment of his epic BBC Radio interview, Kanye West preached pacifism, telling Zane Lowe, "Let's push forward as a civilization. ... [We're] apt to get into a fight this quick for the dumbest reasons."

But 'Ye got the gloves out after Jimmy Kimmel mocked the interview Wednesday on his late-night TV show. Launching into a classic, ALL-CAPS RANT on Twitter, the rapper called out the late night host. For his part, Kimmel responded by reading West's tweets on Thursday night's show — joking, "Finally, I'm in a rap feud" — before making a few more cracks at Kanye's expense, then moved on.

The feud wasn't over though, because rather than respond to Kimmel's latest round of barbs, on Friday (September 27), Kanye let his friend Jibril Durimel do it for him. (Jibril, along with his twin brother Jalan, works in "creative directing, photography and filmmaking, collaborative designing [and] brand and fashion consulting," according to his bio.)

Under the heading "COMMENT FROM JIBRIL DURIMEL," West posted across several tweets, a statement that read, in part: "I'm really against what Jimmy K. did with that parody. Like Kanye said, finally someone speaks some inspirational and real words ... and JK comes with this. It's simple, mediocre dreamers [who] think this is humorous, but all Kanye is saying in the interview is to dream to be the best. If more people actually listened they'd grow wiser after listening to the interview. Jimmy K is the EVIL guy trying to keep people in a boz and not ...

Mark your calendars! Britney Spears has announced the date for her music video. And, it's coming to a TV near you on Tuesday, October 1.

She made the announcement on her Twitter account Friday (September 27). "Go call the guvunah people! We have a premiere date for my #WORKBxxCH video..." she wrote, adding, "Clear the way on TUESDAY, OCT 1ST for the world premiere of the #WORKBxxCH video on the @CW_network!"

The was directed by Ben Mor, who also worked with Spears on the back in 2012. The femme fatale released a short snippet of the feisty clip on Thursday (sexy costumes, dancers and exotic locations abound!) and earlier this week, MTV News spoke to Mor about what fans should expect from the visual.

"You're gonna get to see a lot of Britney that you haven't seen in a long time. A lot of different wardrobe changes, a lot of different setups," he said of what he described as a dance-heavy video. "It's one of the more ambitious Britney videos in a while, I guess."

The video will follow Spears as she dances her way through various set-ups. And the message of the visual certainly mimics that of the sassy song. He added, "This one is basically [saying] 'The queen is back and she's about to show all these bitches how it's done.' It's her being really fierce and taking back her throne in a way."

"Work Bitch" is the lead single off Spears' December 3 album release.

N.O.R.E. has spent his entire career on the run eating, but now the crafty rap veteran is ready to split his pie. The Queens, New York, MC has been releasing music alongside his new group Good Belt Gang, and his desire to be a music CEO is so strong, that Noreaga is ready to hang up the mic after his next solo album Melvin Flynt II: Da Final Hustle.

"I just feel like I've done everything that's needed to be done in music. I've done everything but actually make somebody else a star," N.O. told MTV News.

The C-N-N rapper has tried to put on artists in the past; there was Muse-n-Maze and others that were signed to his Thugged Out Millitainment label, but it was difficult for N.O.R.E. to put others first as long as he was still in artist mode. "That's your competitive spirit and it's just what an artist natural does," he said. "I think I need to step away from the game in totality as an artist per say, as N.O.R.E. to give these new artists their full shot."

Good Belt Gang is made up of Yung Reallie, City Boy D, Black Boy Cocca, Tweez and Money Ming and collectively they've inspired the 36-year old rapper to move on in his career. "Will I stop rapping? No, because I love to rap. But will I be putting out albums and will I be touring? That's the part — I think I want to fully sit back and try and be a CEO," he said.

On C-N-N's 2000 ...

Paula Patton is looking for love for all the wrong reasons in her brand-new rom-com out this weekend.

The flick follows an unlucky-in-love flight attendant named Montana (Patton) as she scurries across the country to try to resurrect a love connection with some of her former flames. The film also stars Taye Diggs, Jill Scott, Djimon Hounsou, Adam Brody and Trey Songz.

"It's a really fun romantic comedy. It's full of fun moments, but really it's about a girl who at the very beginning of the movie thinks she found the man of her dreams," Patton explained to MTV News at the film's premiere earlier this week in L.A. "She quickly realizes he's so not."

If that wasn't enough of a dilemma for her, some kooky antics arise along the way to further complicate her search. "And then in that very same moment, [she] finds out her younger sister is getting married, and marriage is really important to her family," she continued. "And she's devastated. And so she's not really looking for love. She's really looking to show her family up, which is probably not the right idea."

Though her motives aren't the most well-intentioned, there is a lot of heart in the film as well. "She decides to go back to all her ex-boyfriends and see if maybe there was love, maybe she was too picky. And through that journey, she also has self-discovery and finds some love for herself," she said. "And the rest ... you got to see the movie."

In real life, Patton is anything but on the ...

Miley Cyrus left no stone unturned in her latest Rolling Stone cover story. In between getting tattoos on her feet and jumping out of a plane, Cyrus got candid, spilling on her famous friendships, her image, her Video Music Awards performance. But guess what? She wasn't finished.

On Friday (September 27) Rolling Stone released outtakes from their interview, so MTV News is rounding up six more new things we learned about the "Wrecking Ball" singer.

Miley is also the star of MTV's October 2 documentary, "Miley: the Movement."

Bangerz Is Setting A New Standard
Smilers only have less than two weeks to go until they hear Bangerz, but Cyrus promises it will be worth the wait. She admits that she listened to it "20,000 times to make sure it's perfect," trying to "set a new standard for pop music."

"There are albums that people still are listening to, like Michael Jackson's Bad, because it's so f---ing dope. I want people to listen to my album like that," Cyrus said. "There's a line Ludacris says on my album that goes, 'If I die before my time, at least I'll still be living through my music.' That's something I've said over and over again."

Miley's VMA Performance: 'Creepily Hot'
Miley revealed she had a specific goal in mind with her 2013 Video Music Awards performance: to shock viewers. Mission accomplished. Cyrus twerked, grinded and had everyone looking at foam fingers in a whole new light. But since she found it so amusing, she doesn't understand the backlash over the performance.

"When I'm dressed in that ...

Kanye West has spent much of 2013 reinventing himself as a BBC Radio's Zane Lowe — and subsequent spat with Jimmy Kimmel — he's still capable of going to the max.

If anything, West has only added to his legacy of largesse this year, at least when it comes to outrageous, over-the-top boasts (or ) and eye-opening analogies. Whether he was launching into onstage tirades, speaking to The New York Times, or rapping on record, Kanye has dropped more bon mots than we can even count ... though we're going to try.

Inspired by his latest, and perhaps greatest interview, we've compiled a list of everything (and everyone) Kanye has compared himself to in 2013. It's probably not comprehensive — keeping up with his ego requires a full-time staff — but it's pretty close. Looking over this list, one thing's for certain: though his music may be stripped down, Kanye the man still contains multitudes.

» A Black New-Wave Artist
» A God
» A King
» A Minimalist (in a Rapper's Body)
» A Professional Creative
» A Rap-tholic Priest
» A Very Commercial Celebrity Boyfriend
» A Wolf
» A World Builder
» An Architect
» Deepak Chopra
» Jerome from "Martin"
» No Motherf---in' Celebrity
» 'Pac
» Picasso
» Steve of Internet
» Steve Jobs
» The 35-Year-Old 5-Year-Old
» The Anchor
» The Anti-Celebrity
» The Glitch
» The Michael Jordan of Music
» The Most Powerful Voice in Media
» The New Shabba
» The Nucleus
» The Number-One Rock Star on the Planet
» The Worst Kind of Celebrity
» Warhol
» Walt Disney

Drake has collaborated with his share of artists over the years — mostly recently, it seems, with Beyoncé — and pretty soon, he might be able to add another to his roster: Chvrches. Yup, the Scottish electro-pop act is keen to work with Drizzy.

When asked who Chvrches would want to collaborate with if given the chance, the band's Martin Doherty told MTV News simply, "Drake."

Lead singer Lauren Mayberry was less sure. "I honestly don't know," she said. "I've not really thought about this a huge amount. ... I would need to make a list and think about it in an organized manner, which I haven't done yet."

Doherty then whispered, holding an imaginary telephone to his ear, "Drake, call me." We guess he, at least, has thought it through.

Chvrches has been building up buzz since the release of their Recover EP in March, which was soon followed by their debut LP, The Bones of What You Believe, earlier this week. Replete with dark, dancey pop, the album was inspired by "a lot of sci-fi and horror scores from the '80s," according to bandmember Iain Cook.

The trio has yet to collaborate with any other acts yet, but they have busted out some impressive covers that show off their range over the last year, most recently Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right, but It's Okay" on BBC Radio 1.

Given their chops on Houston's track — not to mention their own record — perhaps that call from Drake isn't that far away.

Last week, Chvrches performed at MTV Hive's ...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in fine form in — and not simply because he packed on 12 pounds of muscle to portray the titular Lothario and porn addict. The film marks the 32-year-old's directing and writing debut, one in which he deftly examines how media affects our approach to love and sex.

Critics are largely feeling the good vibrations too, lauding the film for its no-holds-barred approach to Jon's addiction. Here's what they had to say about "Don Jon":

The Story
"It's essentially a romantic comedy in which Jon's sexual fixations provide little more than a MacGuffin to establish his romantic dysfunction. By idealizing intimacy, he's unable to find true love. At first focused on wooing the ostensible girl of his dreams whom he meets at a bar, similarly brazen Jersey girl Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), Jon faces a series of disconcerting wakeup calls when Barbara turns out to be characteristically unexciting in the sack and, upon discovering his internet issues, walks out on him. Salvation gradually arrives when he meets older grad school classmate Esther (Julianne Moore) and forms a more legitimate bond forged in their mutual frustrations with the mundanities and letdowns of day to day existence." — Eric Kohn, IndieWire

Joseph Gordon-Levitt As Director
" 'Don Jon' is definitely smarter than your average R. It's as if the 32-year-old actor has taken everything he's learned — working with directors as diverse as big-vision Christopher Nolan and artful-indie Jonathan Levine and roles as distinct as the time-traveling hitman in 'Looper' and his love-struck cancer patient in '50/50' ...

Picking up right where 2009's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" left off, the sequel wastes no time getting the audience up to speed and off into a new adventure filled with old friends — returning voice actors Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Neil Patrick Harris, and Andy Samberg — and new locations, including the tech-driven San Franjose and the unrecognizable Swallow Falls, which has been totally food-ified thanks to inventor Flint Lockwood's rogue food machine.

Fans of the original should enjoy the sequel, which offers up a tasty expansion of the world filled with edible landscape and food/animal hybrids that make the film a must-see in 3-D. Roaming the transformed Swallow Falls are cheespiders, tacodiles, flamangos, watermelophants and plenty of other pun-based critters that are guaranteed to make kids smile, even though the adult critics had mixed reactions to the relentless wordplay. More than one critic pegged this as the main course to the previous summer's worth of animated appetizers, praising the film's zippy pace and barrage of legit jokes — even if most of the one-liners come with a side dish.

Read on for a sample of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2" reviews.

Savor Every Detail
"The color is scrumptious and the human characters, with their expressive Pinocchio-esque eyes, are enchanting. But it is the inventive design of the many creatures that feels so fresh. The detail is so rich, and so dense, that you wish some of the frames would freeze so you had more time for savoring. They are an eclectic bunch of interlopers. But the ...