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When Emma Stone first burst onto the film scene, I thought she was great. She was brassy, funny, smart, and in a sea of pretty and petit early-20-something actresses navigating through Hollywood, seemed to distinguish herself well. But in the last year, it feels like a bit of that fire has begun to fade—or perhaps that just has to do with her more newly blonde hair and waif like appearance. However, she's still as in demand and charming as ever, and with upcoming roles in The Amazing Spiderman two alongside her beau Andrew Garfield, the Untitled Cameron Crowe Project, and Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Birdman, her plate is pretty full.

Fans of Zombieland, the 2009 horror-comedy that was not, sadly, a weird sequel to Adventureland, will be excited to know that Amazon, in an effort to be as cool as Netflix, has greenlighted a series version of the film. Of course, this isn't TV—it's the internet. You're not going to find your Jesse Eisenbergs or your Emma Stones or your Woody Harrelsons or your Abigail Breslins or even your Bill Murray cameos on an online retailer's original programming network. Behold, the cast of Zombieland: The WebTV Show. Kirk Ward, Maiara Walsh, Tyler Ross, and Izabela Vidovic will star in what Amazon hopes will be their House of Cards. I am dubious; at least House of Cards had Kevin Spacey and a Mara sister. 

Alejandro González Iñárritu's oeuvre—which includes Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel, and Biutiful—is brilliant, but it isn't particulary hilarious (unless, of course, you think dog fighting is a total riot). That is why it's a bit surprising to learn that González Iñárritu's next feature, Birdman, is set to be a comedy. Featuring Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, and Zach Galifianakis, Birdman follows the Broadway production of a play based on a Raymond Carver story. Keaton will star as a marquee actor trying to reclaim his artistic credibility. How very Bullets Over Broadway, only without the mob, Woody Allen's neuroses, or Jennifer Tilly. 

Happy Oscar Nominations Day! Did you wake up early to watch Seth McFarland and Emma Stone announce the nominees? Can you think of a quirkier couple to do so? Here's the run-down: they only bothered to come up with nine movies to nominate for Best Picture, they figured Kathryn Bigelow didn't need any more nominations (probably because of Bridesmaids solving feminism or something last year), and Jessica Chastain with the Julliard degree is up against a nine-year-old. But most importantly: five old white men are gunning for another Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category. Who will it be?!

The specifics of The Amazing Spider-Man have been largely been kept under wraps for now, because Marvel knows that the longer details are withheld, the greater the frothy rage that can be elicited from its shovel-ready audience, so eager to spam the "like" button whenever a significant piece of information gets tossed out there. This brand new trailer is that type of thing worth waiting for: two and a half minutes of Spider-Man glory, cutting through the new storylines and characters to sum up what's new about the old, and how star Andrew Garfield is a Peter Parker for a new decade: he's younger, handsomer, funnier, darker, overall cooler. There's just no way it can go wrong.

Natalie Portman's having quite the 2012. First, she won the Best Actress Oscar for her hysterical/weepy performance in Black Swan. Then she had a baby, or something. But the finest honor was announced today: Portman's topped the list of IMDB's Top Stars of 2011, as decided by user hits on an actor's IMDB page. She unseated Johnny Depp, who's apparently ranked #1 for six of the last seven years -- he moves to #3, while Mila Kunis shoots into the #2 slot. 

The GOP debates have been providing fodder for late night talks show hosts, the Internet in general, and everyone in between.  Jon Stewart called Rick Perry’s “oops moment,” the “dope diamond” in that it's comedy gold. There is little to be done to make it more funny than it was in life, but SNL managed to find a way with the addition of a dickey and a gun.  

Last night, as half the planet was taking stock of Steve Jobs' impact on humanity while the other half was wondering, Where in the World is Colonel Gaddafi?, Jim Carrey posted a strange video love letter to Emma Stone on his website, recapturing the global conversation faster than you can say 'restraining order.' General reaction to the homemade clip has been befuddlement, unease, and a slight case of the heebee-jeebies (that's not taking into account the emotional whirlwind that Ms. Stone must be enduring). The operative word to describe the video, according to the blogs and the people who write them, has been 'creepy.' So what's the deal?

● Steve Jobs has stepped down from his post as Apple CEO, saying, “I have always said that if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s C.E.O., I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.” [NYT] ● Someone in Australia is making a musical about Kanye West and his "struggle against the man to become the man." Sounds cool, bro. [LAT] ● Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's marriage is fine. See how hard they are smiling in all these pictures of their Malibu shopping trip? Totally casual. [TMZ]

If Emma Stone's career were any hotter, we'd all be begging her to stop taking roles, as our skin crackled and popped. The ubiquitous, SNL-obsessed actress has Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Help out in the next three weeks, and just wrapped up a successful weekend at Comic-Con, hawking her Spider-Man movie. Now, reports indicate she is this close to joining the all-star but Bryan Cranston-less cast of the L.A. mobster movie Gangster Squad.