In "Man of Steel," Kevin Costner plays Jonathan Kent, Superman's Earth-born father. The film examines Superman's origins and the dichotomy of his relationships with both Jonathan and Jor-El (Russell Crowe), his Kryptonian father. Despite the obvious differences between the two characters, Costner told MTV News he didn't want his role in the film to be that of a killjoy for the rest of its fantastical fun.

"You certainly didn't want to drag the movie down by being real, and being honest, and going, ah, this is what makes Man of Steel different — they've got this boring part," Costner said with a laugh. "But you're always looking for honesty, you know, what seemed honest at the time."

Costner is no stranger to playing roles where he more or less embodies Americana. His turns in films like "Field Of Dreams" and "Bull Durham" centered around the American Dream. He suggested that even by carrying that role again in "Man Of Steel," it was interesting to be able to pose questions and project uncertainty in the face of such enormous mystery.

'Man Of Steel' Exclusive Clip Coming To MTV!

"You can be honestly confused," he said. "And you can be honestly jealous. And you can be honestly emotional. It's just a matter of being honest with it, and if it sits inside the film, we know where the film has to get to."

Comparing his work with what Russell Crowe had to do, he suggested that he looked at his cinematic world in an appropriately different way, but one which laid the groundwork for the ...

NEW YORK — The Yeezus album rollout has been highly unconventional, even by Kanye West's standards. So it's not surprising that on Monday night, 'Ye invited a wide range of media types, fashion mainstays and his closest friends to the Milk Studios loading dock on Manhattan's west side to get an open-air listen to 10 tracks off of his new LP.

"I have an idea on how to sell more music — it's called make better music," West said to the crowd, which included Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Timbaland and New York Knicks star Tyson Chandler.

West has made a living making "better music" and pushing hip-hop's envelope each time out, but whether or not Yeezus is his best work to date is still to be determined. While last night's loud and booming bass made it difficult to pick up on the smallest details of the surely labored LP, one listen was more than enough to establish that Yeezus is Kanye's most daring work. Chief Keef, Daft Punk and Bon Iver all make appearances, but Yeezus is 100 percent Kanye. "The monster about to come alive again," he boasts over boombastic drums on "Onsite," making reference to his 2010 single "Monster."

'Ye offered no titles or production credits, instead just letting the album play with pretty much no interruption. When it was all over, he played it back again. The entire LP screams creative freedom (sometimes literally, as Kanye wails over tracks like the punk-laced "Black Skinhead" and EDM-driven "I Am a God"). On the latter, Yeezy looks towards the King of Pop and ...

Tension was high on the set of on Monday night as the final five duked it out to get one step closer to that record deal with Universal Music Group. This week's semi-final round narrows the competition down to three and will send the two lowest-voted hopefuls home on Tuesday. Like last week, the contestants performed twice, choosing one dedication song and another picked by their trusty judge.

Usher kicked off the top of the broadcast with a funky performance of his latest Pharrell-produced single, "Twisted," which would have certainly made James Brown proud. But after his sing and dance number, the focus was reverted right back to the contestants.

The Swon Brothers
Blake Shelton's sibling duo started the show with an explosive rendition of Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" — literally, ending with eye-popping fireworks. Dedicated to all the past and present musicians that they've played with, their performance raised the bar and was met with praise from all four of the judges. While Shelton gushed that the brothers have shown "the biggest growth" out of all the contestants in the competition during their first number, Adam Levine was touched by their second performance of "Danny's Song" by Kenny Loggins. "I was excited because that is one of my favorite songs, and it is the first one I have known very well that you have done," the Maroon 5 frontman said. "You did an amazing version."

Sasha Allen
The sole remaining member on Team Shakira went for the big guns with iconic diva tracks like Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" ...

Miley Cyrus dropped her new single, last week, and it immediately became an early contender for song of the summer. With its party vibe and sing-along chorus about dancing the night away, the track is likely to make its way onto every beachgoer's playlist this season.

The lead single off Miley's 2013 album touches on more mature subject matter than the singer has belted out in the past, which makes a bit of sense given its backstory. Producer Mike Will Made It revealed that while the song feels distinctly Miley Cyrus now, he had another pop princess in mind when he started composing it.

"It was kind of crazy 'cause ... when I originally worked on 'We Can't Stop,' we had did it for Rihanna," the producer told MTV News. "The idea was more towards Rihanna. And then Rihanna, she heard [her Unapologetic track] 'Pour It Up,' and then she got on 'Pour It Up' right away. And she didn't even hear 'We Can't Stop.' So then we finished up the record."

Miley Cyrus Works Hard, Parties Hard!

After wrapping up his time with Rihanna, Mike began toying with the idea that "We Can't Stop" might be the perfect way to kick off the next chapter in Miley's career. So, after her team heard it, and the former Disney star gave it two thumbs up, she headed into the booth and put her own stamp on the tune, which is partly inspired by a real-life soiree. While recording, Miley and Mike forged a fruitful musical partnership that spawned the song.

"She ...

"Man of Steel" isn't just the latest film about Superman, it's the latest chance for an actor to become an icon — in this case, it's Henry Cavill. While the actor straps into the character's red and blue super-suit, MTV News takes a look at his transformation into the last son of Krypton.

Cavill began his professional acting career with a small role in director Kevin Reynolds' "The Count of Monte Cristo," leading to a series of British television opportunities. Before he landed his biggest role to date as Charles Brandon in Showtime's series "The Tudors," he actually courted Kal-El in a 2004 production titled "Superman: Flyby," which was to be directed by McG ("Charlie's Angels"). He was eventually replaced in the role by Brandon Routh when Bryan Singer took over directing duties and redubbed it "Superman Returns," but it was his first brush with blockbuster filmmaking.

His subsequent work in films like "Stardust" gained him a fanbase. They wanted high-profile roles for him, like the Cedric Diggory character in the "Harry Potter" series, which eventually went to Robert Pattinson, and Pattinson's own iconic role of Edward Cullen in the "Twilight" films. (Reportedly, Stephenie Meyer thought he would be perfect as the sparkly bloodsucker, but he was too old to take the role by the time that an adaptation of the first book went into production.) He was also one of the finalists to play James Bond before Daniel Craig landed the role in "Casino Royale," which earned him the designation of "Unluckiest Man in Hollywood" by Empire Magazine.

'Man Of ...