Mac Miller was in his own world while recording his upcoming June 18 album, Watching Movies With the Sound Off. Not only did the Pittsburgh rapper and television star develop an unconventional sleeping pattern, he also found himself addicted to syrup — a concoction that includes prescription-strength cough syrup and soft drinks.

The "Donald Trump" MC says things didn't get too bad and luckily he was able to kick the habit. "I don't want to act like I was like this serious heroic story, tackling a drug," Mac told MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway on Wednesday when he appeared on "RapFix Live." "The reality is I gained, like, 40 pounds when I was going to MTV and I didn't want to be fat on national television. I just stopped."

The rapper's premiered in February on MTV2 and its first season ran for six episodes and will return for a second season next year, and while it may have been the main reason that Mac quit sipping lean, it wasn't the only. During a portion of the Watching Movies recording process, Mac, who had relocated to Los Angeles, received a visit from his original Pittsburgh producers E. Dan and Big Jerm. As soon as Miller picked them up from the airport, they could tell something was off.

"I probably had a cup in the car with me and picked 'em up and came back," he said, recalling not being able to keep his eyes open during their scheduled studio session. "I was sitting there trying to stay awake and I passed ...

Here's hoping Emma Watson survives the apocalypse in because the 23-year-old has just booked a would-be film franchise.

Watson will reteam with Warner Bros. and "Harry Potter" producer David Heyman for the big-screen adaptation of Erika Johansen's debut novel "Queen of the Tearling," Variety reports.

The fantasy epic was purchased by publisher HarperCollins in February and is slated for a 2014 release. The trilogy is described as a "female-oriented 'Game of Thrones,' " and is set 300 years after a mysterious environmental calamity. The narrative focuses on 19-year-old princess Kelsea Glynn, who must defeat the Red Queen to reclaim her deceased mother's throne in the kingdom of the Tearling.

According to a statement from her publisher, the idea for the book came to Johansen in a dream and was further inspired by a television appearance by then-Senator Barack Obama.

Warner Bros. has yet to set a writer or director for the project, which Watson will executive produce.

The actress is, of course, no stranger to the magical realm, having starred in eight "Harry Potter" films. Her post-Hogwarts schedule, however, has skewed more towards reality, with turns in "My Week With Marilyn" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Watson has two movies opening this week: "This Is the End," starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, and the Sofia Coppola-directed "Bling Ring." She recently wrapped production on Darren Aronofsky's Bible-based "Noah" and has long been attached to Guillermo del Toro's "Beauty."

If you're wondering how Portugal. The Man landed Danger Mouse to producer their brand-new Evil Friends album, well, you're not alone: turns out they're not even sure how it happened.

"We had the same publicist for a long time, and apparently he had listened to the music, because, when we met, he knew the history of the band, all the music we had put out," PTM frontman John Gourley laughed. "But, to be honest with you, I really don't know why he wanted to work with our group; it just sort of came together."

Of course, even during that first meeting with the Mouse — who, just in case you've been asleep for the past decade, has helped created iconic records with Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, and the Black Keys, to name just a few — Gourley wasn't all that sure what was happening ... especially when the producer told him, rather matter-of-factly, that he wasn't interested in working with any band besides the Keys.

"The way I recall it happening was, I went to his place to meet up and talk about music. There was no 'We're going to make an album together!' There was no thing happening, it was just us meeting," Gourley explained. "And the first thing he says to me was 'Yo man, I don't really need to make another record with a rock band, I don't really want to. I work with the Black Keys, those are my guys.' So immediately we're on the same level: he doesn't want to make a record, we're in the middle of ...

For as much as we hear Future on the radio, the Atlanta hit-maker is surprisingly quiet in interviews, most times choosing to shy away from the details in his personal life. But in his new The Source cover story, the Astronaut Kid opens up like never before, letting readers into his musical process as well as his relationship with girlfriend Ciara and her beef with Rihanna.

"Sometimes it's hard to open up about your personal life, your relationship because you always want the music to be in the forefront. You want the music to be the biggest carrier of everything that you represent," Future told MTV News of his interview in the July 2013 issue.

The cover, which MTV News is exclusively premiering was shot by Zach Wolfe and features a hooded-Future up close and personal against a spacey, purple back drop. On the inside the Astronaut Kid details his rise to stardom with writer Shaheem Reid. He talks about learning the rap ropes from his cousin, OutKast producer Rico Wade, his current string of hit records with Ace Hood and Lil Wayne and his upcoming singles with Jennifer Lopez and Miley Cyrus.

He also dishes on his with Ciara and wonders how her feud with Rihanna affected their collaboration. Future felt the song should've been a single. "We never shot a video, we never performed it. I don't know whether it was because of that situation or if just the time hasn't come up," he says in the issue, which hits stands on June ...

Two years ago, Rihanna rankled a farmer in Northern Ireland with a barely-there bikini top she wore during her ... and though said farmer subsequently forgave her (even going so far as to call her "a nice girl,") well, it turns out her salacious style has once again angered some folks on the Emerald Isle.

Seems that some in Dublin have objected to billboards promoting RiRi's upcoming show at Aviva Stadium — said billboards prominently feature her topless, a la the cover of her Unapologetic album cover — and are expressing their displeasure in a fairly creative way: by stapling actual dresses over her naked body.

Yes, the modest vigilantes have clothed at least two Rihanna billboards in the city (one of which was so large it actually required two dresses to cover up), a move that recalls a similar tactic employed by some rather prudish New York City residents — yes, they actually exist — last month on a Beyonce H&M bikini ad, when they repeatedly censored a bus-stop advertisement of her with a sheet of paper.

Of course, some Rihanna fans have already struck back: One Dublin resident reports that a previously covered billboard on Church Street "has been disrobed," jokingly adding: "Shocking loose morals in this country. Lord bless us all."

So far, Rih has remained silent on the matter ... though you can probably guess how she feels about the whole thing. Her Diamonds world tour heads to Manchester tonight, with four shows in the UK scheduled for next ...

NEW YORK — Taylor Swift was in between Red Tour dates Wednesday night when she stopped by the Fragrance Foundation Awards to accept the award for Celebrity of the Year. And even though she has more than 40 dates between now and December, that doesn't seem to be stopping the 23-year-old from making new music — or at least start thinking about it.

"I'm getting ready to start thinking about it," she told MTV News on the red carpet, before making her way up to Toronto, Ontario, for her next show. "Because my record, it just came out and I'm trying to give my mind a second to like, 'OK,' because when I write a record, I write until I cannot write anymore, I drive myself crazy and then finally the album comes out and I give myself a few months off so I'm still in that time."

In the meantime she's "BFFing it up" with tourmate Ed Sheeran alongside newcomer Austin Mahone, who, before hitting the road with Taylor, originally asked to collaborate on a single.

"My manager called me. They are like, 'We originally wanted to get a song with you and Taylor,' but Taylor's manager was like, 'Forget the song, let's go on tour,' " Mahone told MTV News earlier this spring. "I'd rather go on tour than do a song. You know, a song might come out of that.' "

So who knows, maybe T. Swift will find the time to help the with his request ... that is, if he finds the ...