Together we’ve lived through actresses without teeth, actors without teeth, and pop stars as Furbies. We now feel prepared to see the cast of Mad Men as Muppets. Will you take this journey with us?

Also in this edition of Celebrity Meme Roundup: hot hairstyles for Justin Bieber and a comic that perfectly chronicles Taylor Swift‘s artistic process and likely future.

As always, once you’ve perused our entire collection below, please share your own favorite memes! You can use the “Add Photo” button toward the bottom of this post, or you can use the hashtag #CelebuzzMemes on Twitter or Instagram to send it to us.

Onto the funnies!

Via Flavorwire, here is the cast of Mad Men as Muppets:

See everything that’s wrong with Les Misérables in six minutes:

In response to Justin Bieber‘s “back to bangs” new hairstyle, BuzzFeed offers up some options for Biebs’ next ‘do:

Taylor Swift‘s life summed up in one comic:

Game of Thrones vs. Updog:

Every romantic movie ever made:

Speaking of clichés, have you noticed how all movie posters look the same?

Lastly, here are a couple of odds and ends to take us out:

Oh, twirling Lana, I will never tire of you…

And with that, we end this week’s Celebrity Meme Roundup. But it doesn’t really have to end here. Send us your favorite memes and macros by using the widget below:

You can also tweet or Instagram it to us using the hashtag #CelebuzzMemes.

See you next week!

Are you feeling blue because it’s Splitsville for Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth? Did the sight of Lady Gaga in a wheelchair make you long for happier times?

Let Celebuzz lift your spirits with another edition of Celebrity Meme Roundup! We collected the funniest pop culture macros, GIFs, and videos from the last week in an effort to put a smile on your face.

Once you’ve perused our entire collection below, please share your own favorite memes! You can use the “Add Photo” button toward the bottom of this post, or you can use the hashtag #CelebuzzMemes on Twitter or Instagram to send it to us.

See our favorite funny things after the jump.

This is what pop stars would look like if they were Furbies:

Taylor Swift‘s new single is a little… geekier than normal?

Everyone calm down! The newest episode of The Nekci Menij Show is finally here!

I’m not sure I remember this cameo in Les Misérables:

Remember when Britney Spears was this funky and cool and funky… and cool?

Spare yourself the cost of a movie ticket to se The Hangover Part III and just read this:

Relive all the glory of The Matrix in just 60 seconds:

What can’t Jennifer Lawrence do? (Image via Reddit)

This is just a funny video of girls impersonating Arnold Schwarzenegger:

We’re a bit Lindsay Lohan ourselves, so we’re going to go sleep it off… but not before one last meme:

Do you have a favorite meme you’d like to share? Submit it below, or use the hashtag #CelebuzzMemes on Twitter or Instagram to submit it!

That’s all we have for you this week. Remember to leave links to your favorite memes, videos, and GIFs in the comments so that we may feature them in the future.

With the 85th Academy Awards less than 24 hours away, it’s time to find out how well you know this year’s nominees.

Which actress recently revealed that she auditioned for the role of Fantine in Les Miserables? How old is this year’s youngest nominee, and which other record holder is she up against? How many one-word titled films are up for an Oscar this year?

Celebuzz is challenging the biggest Academy Awards enthusiasts out there and putting their knowledge to the test.

Leave your Playbook behind, put away that Miserables face and launch the gallery, above, for 15 trivia questions about this year’s Oscars.

The 85th Academy Awards will be handed out live on Sunday on ABC. Red carpet coverage will begin at 4PM ET.

In just a few short days, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hold its annual Oscar ceremony, crowning the best and brightest Hollywood has to offer with gorgeous gold statuettes commemorating their greatest achievements – this year, anyway.

If you’re at all interested in industry politics, then you’ve no doubt been paying close attention to the jockeying for position that the year’s highest-profile films have done in recent weeks: after Ben Affleck failed to score a nomination for Best Director, his film Argo picked up steam as a film to beat in several major categories, including Best Picture. Meanwhile, director David O. Russell has shopped around the stars of Silver Linings Playbook in an effort to drum up support for the film, which now unexpectedly seems to have a real shot at stealing top honors from the likes of Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty.

But with a few days left to fill out your Oscar ballots for those office pools, we asked Celebuzz’ staff who they think should take home some of the ceremony’s top prizes.

Asked to submit their picks for the top five categories – Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress – Celebuzz’ top experts offered their thoughts about who will, and also who should win.

Gabi Chung, Staff Editor

Best Picture: Argo. It’s this year’s industry darling.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. For someone who’s highly selective of his roles, this man’s track record is amazing. Out of the 20 feature films he’s starred in, he’s been nominated five times for a Best Actor Oscar and won the actual award twice. It’s his year again. The numbers don’t lie.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. Her SAG Award for Female Actor in a Leading Role kind of sealed her fate for this category.
Best Director: Steven Spielberg. Since Ben Affleck — the winner of this year’s Director’s Guild Award for Argo — isn’t nominated for an Oscar, many in the Academy will go for the safe choice and give it to Spielberg.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. I’m going with the SAG win argument again.
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones. Again, SAG Awards is always a good prediction of how the Oscar acting awards will be handed out.

Tom Freestone, Producer, The Daily Buzz

Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain
Best Director: Steven Spielberg
Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

Jarret Garcia, Photo Editor

Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Best Director: Steven Spielberg
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

Kristin Koch, Senior Fashion & Beauty Editor

Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain
Best Director: Ang Lee
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Supporting Actor: Robert De Niro

Eli Lippman, Celebuzz Social Producer

Best Picture: Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor: Denzel Washington
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Best Director: Ang Lee
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones

Cory Lopez, Staff Editor

Best Picture: Argo. From sweeping up several other Best Picture wins this season to all the public outcry of Ben Affleck being snubbed for Best Director, Argo has an edge despite the many beloved folders in this more-crowded-than-ever category.
Best Director: Benh Zeitlin. In his feature directorial debut, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin directed a five-year-old no-name to become one of the youngest Best Actress nominees ever.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. Forever after this acclaimed performance, Daniel Day-Lewis will live on in our minds as the actualization of Abraham Lincoln.
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain. After Kathryn Bigelow was overlooked for Best Director for helming the year’s most controversial film, it seems only fitting its female lead take the top honor instead.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. Though Les Misérables garnered mix reviews, the Academy is always a sucker for a dramatic transformation and, of course, a good cry.
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz. For the second straight Quentin Tarantino film, “supporting actor” Christoph Waltz has shone as the true star.

Cliff Renfrew, Senior Reporter

Best Picture: Lincoln. The scale, storytelling, direction and acting make this my overall favorite pick for best film.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. The British actor is simply the best in the business.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. Jennifer Lawrence is the most exciting and talented young actress in Hollywood and gets my vote this year.
Best Director: Steven Spielberg. No other director deserves it more that Spielberg for making such an interesting movie about such an important historical figure.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. Simply the best – she can sing and act, and even looks good with dodgy teeth.
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz. Nobody does danger with a hint of irony better than this German master – worthy of an Oscar.

Matt Russoniello, Community Manager

Best Picture: Either Silver Linings Playbook or Lincoln. Historically, Lincoln is exactly the kind of film that the Academy likes to reward. But Silver Linings Playbook has garnered so much positive attention and goodwill that it definitely stands a chance.
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis. He underwent a big transformation for the role, and the consensus is that he deserves a record-breaking third Oscar.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. People like her not only as an actress, but as a personality. People want to see her take the stage and give a memorable acceptance speech.
Best Director: David O. Russell. He pulled amazing, nomination-worthy performances out of his four main actors. That’s a director’s job; he deserves it.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. It just seems unavoidable at this point. It was kind of her year.
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz. He gave the quirkiest, most memorable performance of the bunch.

Andy Scott, Staff Editor

Best Picture: Argo. Ben Affleck’s directing snub should have sealed Argo‘s fate in this category. Ironically, it appears that everyone has decided to rally behind him, instead. Sorry, Lincoln.
Best Director: Steven Spielberg. With Ben Affleck out of the equation, Spielberg seems like the next logical choice to win here. Though wouldn’t it be kind of awesome if Behn Zeitlin won instead?
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. Why are you even reading this sentence? He’s winning.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. Years from now, people will look back on this category and ask, “Why did Jennfier Lawrence win?” In the meantime, everyone seems to think she deserves it, so there’s no reason to think that she won’t.
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones. Although, your guess is as good as mine. (Go Hoffman, even if you’re actually Lead!)
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. Hathaway won the Oscar the second she was cast as Fantine. A “Dream” role, indeed.

Andrea Simpson, Senior News Editor

Best Picture: Zero Dark Thirty. Kathryn Bigelow knows how to move an audience with deeply compelling writing and acting, and like The Hurt Locker, told this story of such a poignant moment in the world’s history with such honesty you couldn’t take your eyes off the screen.
Best Actor: It’s a toss-up between Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix, but in either case, one word sufficiently describes both actors’ performances: Brilliant.
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain. Her subtle determination made this performance.
Best Director: Steven Spielberg. He’s the clear favorite and if he wins, much like the film, he too will go down in American history as only the fourth director to win more than two directing Oscars.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. I just hope the Academy spells her name right!
Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin. I loved this film, but he made the whole movie worth watching, just waiting for those unexpected one-liners.

Peggy Truong, Contributing Editor

Best Picture: Argo. This will be Ben Affleck’s closest thing to winning Best Director.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. He’s been unstoppable all awards season long.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. Although there’s a lot of history riding on this with Riva and Wallis, JLaw’s performance trumps all the others.
Best Director: David O. Russell. Although my personal pick would be underdog Benh Zeitlin, David O. Russell will win the Oscar.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. All hail Anne Hathaway and whatever speech she will make to make us all cry.
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz. This is a weak group of nominees to begin with, but Christoph Waltz’s performance is the strongest of them all.

…And Todd Gilchrist, Senior Film Editor

Best Picture: Argo. Silver Linings Playbook has a real chance at taking this prize given its visibility over the last several weeks, but given the attention heaped upon Affleck specifically because he wasn’t nominated, it seems likely that the Academy will reward his effort in some way, this being probably the best and most direct.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. Although my sentimental choice has Joaquin Phoenix winning the statutette for what I still believe is truly the best performance of the year, Day-Lewis’ pedigree, and quite frankly, his charm in the face of so many previous victories, makes him the front-runner. And yeah, it was also a phenomenal performance.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. Poised to become the next A-list star with acting chops to match, Lawrence retains a scrappy, don’t-give-a-shit attitude that makes her youthfulness sexy without sounding impudent or disrespectful. Jessica Chastain absolutely knocks it out of the park in Zero Dark Thirty, but I feel like the Academy is going to reward her upstart colleague instead.
Best Director: David O. Russell. Spielberg already has his Oscar, and Russell’s film has built a head of steam on the charm and talent of its actors, whom the extraordinarily gifted filmmaker coached to some remarkable performances.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. The moment she finished that uninterrupted tae where she sings her heart out, looking rumpled and broken and beautiful, the Academy already decided – even if they hadn’t seen the end result yet.
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones is such a joyless S.O.B. that his performance in Lincoln seems more like typecasting than a terrific transformation, but it’s the kind of turn that the Academy likes – gruff and abrasive while retaining a charming edge, especially given the principle with which his character undertakes his formidable challenges in Lincoln.

What do you think of our picks? And who do you think will take home the gold? Let us know in the comments section below!

Les Miserables made history in 2012 by being the first musical in the genre’s history to have its actors perform the songs live on set. But almost 40 years earlier, Bob Fosse was breaking ground as the director of Cabaret, turning Kander and Ebb’s stage musical into a hugely successful and acclaimed movie.

On February 5, Warner Home Video released Cabaret on Blu-ray for the first time, after subjecting it to an extensive restoration that required more than 1,000 feet of film to be repaired by hand. Meanwhile, a featurette on the disc offers additional insights into the genius of Bob Fosse, still renowned as one of the premiere musical directors of all time.

“Bob Fosse was completely brilliant in getting everybody to contribute the very best possible work they could do,” says Alan Heim, editor of Fosse’s All That Jazz.

“We all knew that to work for Bob, the film was going to be different, it was going to be in some way wonderful.”

Liza Minelli, who starred in Cabaret for Fosse – after being denied a role in the stage version – says that the director was protective, supportive and tough, in equal measures.

“He was really good – and he protected you,” she says. “And he was hard on you, if you weren’t doing it right. But if you were trying, and you understood direction, he loves you.”

Cabaret is available everywhere now on Blu-ray. Have you seen it? If so – or if you’re planning to – let us know in the comments section below: how well does the film hold up today?

Is Britney Spears hinting at a new collaboration?

Earlier this week, the 31-year-old singer playfully poked fun at Russell Crowe’s costume from Les Miserables – a look that sort of resembles Spears’ 2004 music video for “Toxic.”

After a fan pointed out the uncanny similarities, Spears joined in on the fun.

“LOL. Cute hat @RussellCrowe. You wear it well. Maybe we should perform a Toxic/Work Song mashup,” the pop princess wrote on Twitter.

On Sunday, the newly-single Spears was all smiles as she headed to a meeting in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The “Scream and Shout” singer donned a cute lace top and black mini skirt, as she carried on with her day.

Spears, who last released an album in 2011 (with Femme Fatale), is gearing up to work on her eighth studio release this year. According to MTV, the superstar has already recruited her “Scream and Shout” collaborator will.i.am, as well as Hit-Boy, a hip-hop star from Kanye West’s circle.

“I’m bringing my world to her world, so I’m infusing what I do in hip-hop and bringing pop elements to it,” Hit-Boy recently told MTV. “So it’s just going to be a global sound.”

Are you looking forward to Britney Spears’ next album? Weigh in below.

Everyone’s office has that one movie fan that always wins the Oscar betting pool, who wears their newly-won gift card to Outback Steakhouse like a badge of honor.

No one wants to lose to that guy. In an effort to prevent your resident watercooler handicapper from earning another victory notch for his cubicle wall, here are the movies Celebuzz suggests that you see before Oscar night.

In the build-up to Awards season, some movies beat the drum louder than others.

Films like Argo and Les Miserables come out of the gate designed for all the attention, and get it – if their box office grosses are any indication. Other releases take the less-is-more approach, relying on word of mouth – and just being damn good movies – to attract Oscar’s spotlight.

Those are the films we’re highlighting today. So stop everything you’re doing and put them in your eyes now.

Which of these movies have you seen? Which ones do you think have the best shot at Oscar? Drop your reviews in the comments below.

Among the most heated races at the Golden Globes are the acting categories. Denzel Washington and Daniel Day-Lewis are in a virtual dead-heat for Best Actor in a drama, while newly Oscar-nominated Bradley Cooper (The Silver Linings Playbook) squares off opposite Les Mis frontrunner Hugh Jackman for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.

On Sunday, January 13, the awards will be handed out, but who will win? Who should win? Let Celebuzz help you figure that out with our guide to the Best Actor nominees.

Just like we did for Best Actress in both drama and musical/comedy, we breakdown each of the talented actors nominated, provide an overview of their performance and the bottom line on their chances of winning.

This year is one of the most competitive ever; so many good actors cranked out some truly great performances. While a Golden Globe win is not a definite precursor to Oscar, it certainly doesn’t hurt one’s chances.

Which actor gets your vote? Tell us in the comments and watch our interview with Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook!

In the ramp-up to the Golden Globes, the Oscar nominations have come and gone, leaving a bread-crumb trail of obvious nods and an ocean of dissatisfied grumbles at some of the less-subtle snubs.

In fact, one could argue that between its two two-category system of Drama and Musical/Comedy, the Globes made a much wiser set of selections. And if you haven’t seen several, most or all of these noteworthy nominees, Celebuzz is here to break them down and help you out in the office pool come Monday.

Lincoln, Argo and Zero Dark Thirty are frontrunner for Best Drama at the Globes, while Les Miserables and Oscar-favorite The Silver Linings Playbook duke it out for Best Musical/Comedy.

The Globes air Sunday, January 13 on NBC. Here’s our guide to all of the nominees, including our predictions of who should – and will – win.

Not that we’re playing favorites, but check out Celebuzz’ interview with Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain. And then tell us in the comments below: Which movies are you rooting for?

With less than a week to go before the Oscar nominations are announced, one of the biggest foreshadows for Oscar gold – the Directors Guild – has revealed their nominees for Best Director.

As expected, Argo‘s director and star Ben Affleck and Lincoln‘s Steven Spielberg lead the pack, followed by a few surprise picks.

Read on for the full list of directors…

Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) and Ang Lee (Life of Pi) round out the list of 5 directors. This year marks Affleck’s first DGA nomination, while Best Director Oscar winners Hooper and Bigelow received their second. Spielberg scored is eleventh DGA nomination.

David O. Russell, a favorite for The Silver Linings Playbook, is notably absent. Also missing from the list are Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained and The Master‘s Paul Thomas Anderson.

The DGA is one of the strongest indicators of who will take home Oscar gold. No director has ever won an Academy Award without previously receiving a nod from the DGA.

So based on the DGAs, who are Oscar’s frontrunners? With Golden Globe and DGA nods, Hooper is a safe bet for a Best Director nomination. Ditto Spielberg and Bigelow.

The outlook is still a bit fuzzy on Lee; the Academy could go either way and give it to Russell. And don’t count out Tarantino just yet; the filmmaker is very popular with the Academy and his Golden Globe nomination may be enough to secure a nod. Oscar nominations are announced Thursday, January 10.

Which director do you think will win? Who do you want to go home with the Oscar? Sound off in the comments below.

Big screen hunks Justin Timberlake and Hugh Jackman hit a high note together over a post-Christmas dinner… literally.

The actors, who’ve been known to sell out a crowd when they’ve taken over the microphone, were spotted having dinner at the ultra-exclusive Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Ski Resort and Spa in Avon, Colo. Dec. 27, an eyewitness told Celebuzz exclusively.

“They were out for dinner at the 8100 Mountainside Bar & Grill,” said the eyewitness.

“They were joking with a musician in the lobby. They were requesting songs and cracking jokes and seemed really friendly.”

Timberlake, 31, who’s long been a fan of Beaver Creek Ski Resort and whose wife Jessica Biel has signed on to star opposite Jackman as Viper in The Wolverine, joined the Aussie heartthrob, who just so happens to be staying at the swankiest hotel in the area for the holidays. And the stars went relatively unnoticed on their time off before award season kicks into high gear in the New Year.

“People stayed away for the most part,” added the eyewitness. “It’s a fancy but quiet restaurant.”

The 44-year-old star of stage and screen has a lot to sing about in 2012 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Les Miserables set to be handed out Jan. 13.

Do you think Justin Timberlake and Hugh Jackman would make a good on-screen duo? Tell us your thoughts below.

As the holiday season – and the year as a whole — reaches its final hurrah with New Year’s, theaters are bustling with new, highly-anticipated movie releases. From late-breaking blockbusters to Oscar bait to sleeper hits, there’s plenty to choose from.

And Five Flicks in Five Clicks is Celebuzz’ way of whittling down those choices to a comfortable number.

As The Hobbit continues to perform well at the box office, Christmas openers Les Miserables and Django Unchained have stolen some of that film’s thunder, both critically and commercially. Meanwhile, crowd-pleasers Jack Reacher and This Is 40 hope to capture a share of the market for themselves.

Launch the gallery above to see Celebuzz’ breakdown of the week’s top films.

Be sure to watch the trailers for each film below.

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Jack Reacher

This Is 40

Let Celebuzz know in the comments section which of the films you chose – and why!

It’s Oscar slummin’ time at the movies as Hollywood rolls out its primo slate of films, but despite a handful of new titles across the marquee, it’s all about the French Revolution and the Civil War South this weekend. The big-budget adaptation of Broadway’s favorite child, Les Miserables, is pitting its cannons and bayonets against Quentin Tarantino’s spaghetti-western six-shooter, Django Unchained.

Which film will sing a victorious ballad and which will lay buried in a shallow desert grave?

Directed by Tom Hooper, the filmmaker behind The King’s Speech, the latest theatrical rendition of Les Mis combines a star-studded cast with high-cost Hollywood production value. The end result is a wonderfully performed rendition of the classic story with critically acclaimed turns by Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman.

Watch Celebuzz’ interview with Jackman about the challenges of bringing the musical to the screen:

Hooper’s direction, however, makes the film feel a bit like a well-funded stageplay with the camera filming from the point-of-view of the audience. With a series of close-ups and wide, sweeping shots, the production never truly figures out a way to present these songs in a uniquely cinematic fashion. The film looks and sounds spectacular without necessarily taking full advantage of its medium.

Quentin Tarantino, on the other hand, makes full use of his cinematic toolbox to bring the story of a former slave and a German bounty-hunter to life in Django Unchained. Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio, Django tells a tale of pre-Civil War revenge in purely Tarantino fashion. It’s likely one of his finest – and certainly funniest – films that strikes a smart balance between the near-comic absurdity and inhuman brutality of American slavery.

Check out Celebuzz’ interview with Django actor Sammi Rotibi:

Showcasing action, comedy and drama with a smart soundtrack and a striking series of cinematic visuals, Django Unchained is the absolute pick-of-the-week for lovers of old-school Westerns or Tarantino in general.

Let Celebuzz know what you’re planning on seeing this weekend with your vote above, and talk about why you want to see these box office brawlers in the comments below!

Les Miserables brought in the big bucks on Christmas Day.

The much-anticipated musical — starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Russell Crowe — took the box office’s No. 1 spot with an estimated $17.5 million.

Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino‘s gritty period drama, Django Unchained, which stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio, came in second, earning a projected $14 million — and also taking the title as the highest-grossing R-rated film on Dec. 25, per The Hollywood Reporter.

With two of the season’s biggest releases drawing major buzz, the movie industry had plenty to celebrate yesterday, thanks to audiences hitting up their local theaters for some holiday film fun. Tallying out the rest of the box office: The Hobbit, which placed third with a projected $10.8 million, and Parental Guidance, which came in fourth with an anticipated $6 million to $7 million.

Did you see a movie on Christmas Day? Which was your favorite? Sound off in the comments!

Hugh Jackman has come quite a long way.

Since starting out as a Communications student in Sydney, Australia, the actor has managed to turn what was just a drama course for additional credits to a full-blown, award-winning acting career.

Over the years, Jackman wowed spectators both on and off the theater stage with a variety of roles. Refusing to let genre hold him back, the 44-year-old has played almost everything from a disgruntled mutant to a magician and, yes, even an Australian in the outback.

Now, Jackman stars in director Tom Hooper‘s first musical film, Les Misérables. Though it may seem the actor — who also won a Tony Award in 2004 for his work in Broadway’s The Boy From Oz — is back in his element with musical theater, he assures us that the task of taking onthe iconic role of Jean Valjean was all still very daunting.

“It takes a long time,” he told Celebuzz of acting in a silver screen musical. ”I have a background in theater and when I first got into a musical 20 years ago I was like, ‘Whoa, this is not easy.’”

“The process I have to take is — first of all, I take the lyrics off the music page and write them out as dialogue, so I have to approach that,” he continued. “Then, I learn the song and then it takes a long time to put the two together to make them feel natural.”

“I won’t say it’s easy. For some it’s easy but for me, I have to go through every step [of that process.]”

Just how far has Jackman come in order to develop his craft?

Relive Jackman’s entire acting journey in the gallery — above.

Les Miserables accomplishes more then merely bringing one of the most beloved stage musicals to the big screen: It literally makes history.

As the first film musical in the medium’s history to actually allow the actors to perform live on set, it combined the immediacy of film with the theatricality of the stage. And star Hugh Jackman credits director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) with dexterously combining the virtues of each medium to create a unique and special whole.

“I think Tom Hooper being a slight outsider was a real benefit,” Jackman told Celebuzz. “Tom went in going, so with film, I can show scope, I can show passages of time, I can show transformation. Not only that, there are things that really work on stage, but with film I can enhance that.”

Jackman explained that Hooper’s photography not only makes the singing feel palpable and immediate, but gives the emotion behind it an appropriately sweeping context. He also said it provided co-star Anne Hathaway with one of the greatest moments he’d ever seen on film.

“When Anne sings ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ and Tom gives her the greatest filmmaking compliment I’ve ever seen, which is holding without cutting a close-up for three minutes of that performance, you know it’s live singing — you can feel it and you’re there.

“So it is in a way theater on steroids, because you are getting the best seat you’re ever going to get to one of the great performances ever.”

Les Miserables opens in theaters nationwide December 25. Watch Celebuzz’ interview with Hathaway, and then let us know what you think of the movie – and both actors’ great moments – in the comments section below!

Although many of the stars of Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the stage musical Les Miserables had previous experience as singers – some were even classically-trained – none had the pedigree of Samantha Barks, who performed in hundreds of stage performances of the musical in London’s West End.

Nevertheless, Barks admitted that she struggled to find the right approach to playing Eponine, the character whom she’s played so many times before, when faced with the challenge of doing so in front of a camera rather than on stage.

“This is a piece I knew a lot about, having performed it in the West End,” Barks told Celebuzz. “But I was entering a world I knew nothing about, so I had a lot to bring to it, but there was so much to learn.”

Barks explained that the stage experience demands more from a performer, at least in the sense that he or she must project enough volume and power to reach everyone in the audience. Comparatively, being filmed meant that she had to dial back her more theatrical impulses to find something more understated and intimate.

“In theatre you have to project your voice to fill a 3,000 seater, but on this you could be stripped back and your emotions could read,” she said.

“The camera was right here, so you could be so intimate. Obviously you still want to build to that musical climax, but it meant you could start in such a place of intimacy that you had a longer journey than a musical arc to go on – because it’s so exciting to have that depth.”

Les Miserables opens in theaters nationwide on December 25. Watch Celebuzz’ interview with Barks’ co-star, Anne Hathaway, and let us know what you think of the film itself in the comments below!

As a young actor with unconventional good looks, Eddie Redmayne has often played character whose audiences show dubious sympathy for, if any at all. But in Les Miserables, Redmayne plays Marius, a virtuous romantic lead whom he described as a welcome change after his work in films like Hick and The Yellow Handkerchief.

“It feels quite refreshing, actually,” he told Celebuzz. “When I first auditioned for this, I was shooting a film called Hick in North Carolina where played a Texan meth-addict pedophile with a limp.”

Redmayne revealed that he actually auditioned for Les Miserables via his telephone, rather than the more conventional method of, oh, meeting with the filmmakers in person.

“It was this night in a trailer on a night shoot that I took my phone and sang the song that my character sings,” he said. “So it was whilst playing a complete psychopath that I started auditioning for this job.”

Although he thrilled at the chance to play one of the film’s heroes, Redmayne said that he wanted to make the character as sophisticated as possible. “In that [stage] version, Marius is a romantic, almost a romantic,” he said. “All of these people die for him and he goes through singing oblivious.”

“Tom Hooper and I went back to the book and found a load of intricacies that made this guy more complicated, to see how extreme this guy was willing to go.”

Les Miserables opens in theaters nationwide on December 25. Watch Celebuzz’ exclusive video interview with Redmayne’s co-star Anne Hathaway below.

In order to give his upcoming adaptation of the stage musical Les Miserables real epic sweep on the big screen, director Tom Hooper recruited some powerhouse vocalists to play key roles in the film. But Amanda Seyfried told Celebuzz that she wasn’t one of them – which ultimately helped her performance as starry-eyed ingénue Cosette.

“I think the fact that my voice does lack power, and a sense of control really worked with Cosette,” Seyfried said. “She’s very delicate. I do love to sing [and] I do have those qualities — I am a soprano, I am comfortable living in that range, and thankfully [the filmmakers] felt that they correlated with one another.”

Seyfried stars in the film alongside Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, and former Les Mis stage actress Samantha Barks, all of whom contributed considerable muscle in their roles. She said that she threw herself into the preparation, although she admits she didn’t do quite as much as she would have liked.

“I didn’t have as much preparation as I would have loved, but I was also working on something entirely different,” Seyfried said. “So I did exercise as much as possible.”

Nevertheless, Seyfried said that even though the vulnerability of her voice proved to be an asset, she hopes one day to be able to hold her own on some of the meatier material her co-stars performed.

“It came to my advantage that I didn’t have the power that Sam has and Annie has, but I’d like to one day be able to sing ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’ if just for myself.”

Les Miserables open in theaters nationwide on December 25. Watch Celebuzz’ exclusive interview with Anne Hathaway about her work on the film below.

Anne Hathaway’s recent wardrobe malfunction at the New York premiere of Les Miserables has devastated the actress.

“Well, it was obviously an unfortunate incident,” Hathaway told Matt Lauer when she appeared on Today Wednesday. “I think it kind of made me sad on two accounts. One, was that I was very sad that we live in an age when someone takes a picture of another person in a vulnerable moment and rather than delete it and do the decent thing, sells it.”

“And I’m sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexuality of unwilling participants which brings us back to Les Miserables because that’s what my character is,” continued the recently announced Screen Actors Guild nominee. “She is someone that is forced to sell sex to benefit her child because she has nothing and there is no social safety net.”

In the film, based upon the extraordinary Broadway musical, Hathaway plays Fantine, the mother of Cosette, who is forced into prostitution. It’s been widely reported that the already thin actress lost almost 25 pounds for her role as the dying woman.

Hathaway was hesitant to talk about how she went about losing the weight with Lauer, telling him, “Oh, you don’t want to know. Honestly, it’s upsetting to talk about.”

When he questioned, “Deprivation or worse?” as her methods, she responded “Not worse, but you know, I get nervous talking about it, because I find that I don’t want to be seen as trying to glamorize it. There’s a lot of talk, a lot of pressure, especially in young girls to lose weight and what I did – I didn’t do it to get hot, I did it to look like I was dying.”

Hathaway, 30, also visited Live! with Kelly and Michael Wednesday morning to discuss lighter topics like her wedding to actor Adam Shulman, 31, on Sept. 29.

“I just totally won the husband lottery,” the star said of her beau. “So, honey, I want breakfast when I get home.” The actress then joked about a previous appearance on the show when she said a 2012 wedding was out of the question.

You can watch Hathaway on Today above and a portion of her interview on Live! With Kelly and Michael below.

Will you be seeing Les Miserables when it hits theaters this Christmas? Let us know in the comments below!