Anyone who watched "The Office" for any of its nine seasons was well aware of the awkwardness, love triangles and office boredom the characters experienced on a daily basis. But who knew they were making so many movie references along the way?

In the mashup above, Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) confidently brings up "that dwarf in 'Lord Of The Rings,'" tells Kelly (Mindy Kaling) that she should be wearing cleats and holding a soccer ball as a nod to "Bend It Like Beckham,'" and says he's "like Mr. Miyagi and Yoda rolled into one."

Meanwhile, Ryan (B.J. Novak) tells a story about his family that closely resembles the plot of "The Lion King," and Dwight says -- after much prodding -- that his favorite movie is "The Crow."

"The Office" aired for nine seasons on NBC.

The late Tupac Shakur will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as announced by the Walk of Fame Committee. Tupac will make for the fourth rap star bestowed the honor. He is one of the best selling music artists in the world, and his All Eyez On Me double disc is one of the best selling hip-hop albums of all time.

Shakur, known to the world as 2Pac, will be awarded the star for his illustrious recording career. Prior to his tragic murder in 1996, Pac had proven himself an accomplished poet, activist and actor. He starred in a number of films including Juice, Poetic Justice, Above The Rim and Gang Related.

2Pac -- beloved to fans all over the world -- has become a martyr in death. A statue in Georgia and Germany were erected in his honor, he has been the subject of over a dozen documentaries and a hologram in his likeness took the stage at last year's Coachella Music Festival (to the surprise of festival go-ers). In effort to preserve his legacy, Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation. Shakur's impact has been the subject of academic lectures at Harvard University, State University of New York and Buffalo, and Northeastern University. In 1997, UC Berkeley offered the ground-breaking course: 'History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur.'

Tupac will be inducted into the Walk Of Fame alongside Katy Perry, Rick Springfield, Orlando Bloom, Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. Comedian Phil Hartman is also set to receive a posthumous star.

See the full list of 2014 Walk of Fame inductees here:

Mysterious as he is on "Mad Men," James Wolk is just as full of surprises as his character Bob Benson.

Although he's made quite a name for himself over the years -- and this year especially as the guy who hit on Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) on "Mad Men" -- Wolk insists he isn't above the classic odd job.

In an interview with Vulture's Denise Martin, Wolk admitted that one of his best memories is emceeing at bar and bat mitzvahs.

I grew up in a town where there were an immense number of bar and bat mitzvahs. When I was 15, I was approached by one of the bar and bat mitzvah companies to, like, dance and pass out glow sticks and do inane stuff, and I was told that ultimately it would lead to emceeing. So I started when I was 15 and everyone thought I was 18 or 19 because I was really tall. No one knew my dad was dropping me off five blocks before the temple. I emceed in metro Detroit throughout college, and even when I moved to New York, I would actually fly back on a Friday, emcee on a Saturday, and fly back on Sunday so that I could audition during the week. It was a big part of my life.

Sunday's "Mad Men" finale won't likely see Wolk whipping out any of his emcee skills, but hey may have an opportunity to put them to use on CBS' new comedy "The Crazy Ones" this fall starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robin Williams.

"My character is a total bulls*** artist," Wolk told Rolling Stone of Zach, his latest small screen alter ego.

Catch the season finale of "Mad Men" tonight, Sun., June 23 at 10 p.m. ET on AMC.

Emma Watson's star shines bright these days, with both "The Bling Ring" and "This Is the End" out in theaters. The gorgeous 23-year-old has been taking red carpets by storm worldwide, and though she recently claimed she "never wanted to grow up too fast," it's hard nowadays to remember her for anything but her sexy new image.

That is, until you see these adorable throwback images from her Hermione days. In this scene from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Watson looks as darling as you once remembered her.

LOOK:

h/t imgur

Paul Giamatti is having a grand ole time on the set of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." Giamatti, who recently joined the cast of "Downton Abbey," plays Rhino in the "Spider-Man" sequel, a Russian tough guy who likes making ridiculous faces.

When all of that isn't happening, Giamatti spends his "Amazing Spider-Man" downtime with an iced drink and Spider-Man himself, Andrew Garfield. (Garfield's Spider-Man stunt double, back and to the right, was not in on this moment of levity.)

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is out in theaters on May 2, 2013. Click over to ScreenCrush to see some of Giamatti's best villainous faces.

Product placement has become a large part of reality shows, but for some hosts, like "Top Chef's" Padma Lakshmi, it's become a "crappy" obligation.

"With advertising for us, it's a very expensive show to do, so there are times when we have people who come in -- or corporations or products -- and it's 'OK this is the challenge for Uncle Ben's' or whatever," Lakshmi said during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable with other reality TV hosts. "It's pretty straightforward. I'm the one on air who gets kind of most, I don't want to say saddled or slammed with the crappy part of it, but I feel like I do because I have to say and I'm not going to use any brand ... it's never something that's straightforward. I wind up saying the brand name in my intro to the challenge to these chefs. 'Get in your car,' it's 'Get in your blah, blah, blah car.' I have to make that shit sound natural, and it's hard."

However, Lakshmi did praise "Top Chef" producers for integrating products into the actual competition. She cited a Reynolds Quickfire challenge in which everything was wrapped in aluminum foil.

The Onion mocked "Top Chef's" product placement in a video from February.

Top Chef Contestants Forced To Prepare Entire Meal Out Of 2013 Toyota Avalon

In January, BuzzFeed suggested the Bravo series tone down its product placement as a way to spice up the long-running reality series. "I get that 'Top Chef' makes a lot of money from its relentless product placements, but when they start to interfere with the content of the show, it’s time to take a step back," BuzzFeed's Louis Peitzman wrote.

Watch Lakshmi and other reality TV hosts discuss product placement in the THR roundtable below.

Because the world can never have enough Beyonce, the singer has added additional stops to her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.

Originally scheduled to wrap at the end of the summer, The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour will now continue through the fall. New concerts were added to Bey's schedule this week, including stops in South America and a return to North America for shows in November and December. Beyonce's tour will now end in Boston, Mass. on Dec. 20.

The tour has been highly profitable for Bey, who grossed $9.7 million in ticket sales from the six shows she played in London alone.

Check out the remaining stops on Beyonce's Mrs. Carter Show World Tour below.

June 28: Los Angeles, Calif.
June 29: Las Vegas, Nev.
July 01: Los Angeles, Calif.
July 02: San Jose, Calif.
July 05: Oklahoma City, Okla.
July 06: Dallas, Texas
July 07: New Orleans, La.
July 09: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
July 10: Miami, Fla.
July 12: Atlanta, Ga.
July 13: Nashville, Tenn.
July 15: Houston, Texas
July 17: Chicago, Ill.
July 18: St. Paul, Minn.
July 20: Detroit, Mich.
July 21: Toronto, Ontario
July 22: Montreal, Quebec
July 23: Boston, Mass.
July 25: Philadelphia, Penn.
July 26: Atlantic City, NJ
July 27: Charlotte, NC
July 29: Washington, DC
July 30: Washington, DC
July 31: East Rutherford, NJ
August 2 Uncasville, Conn.
August 3: Brooklyn, NY
August 4: Brooklyn, NY
August 5: Brooklyn, NY
August 17: Chelmsford, England
August 18: Staffordshire, England
August 31: Philadelphia, Penn.
September 8: Fortaleza, Brazil
September 11: Belo Horizonte, Brazil
September 13: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
September 15: Sao Paulo, Brazil
September 17: Brasilia, Brazil
September 20: Caracas, Venezuela
September 26: Mexico City, Mexico
September 28: San Juan, Puerto Rico
November 30: Vancouver, B.C.
December 2: San Jose, Calif.
December 3: Los Angeles, Calif.
December 6: Las Vegas, Nev.
December 7: Phoenix, Ariz.
December 9: Dallas, Texas
December 10: Houston, Texas
December 12: Louisville, KY
December 13: Chicago, Ill.
December 14: St. Louis, MO
December 16: Toronto, Ontario
December 18: Washington DC
December 19: Brooklyn, NY
December 20: Boston, Mass.

Robert Pattinson hosted a star-studded birthday party for his director friend Nicholas Jarecki at his home in LA on Saturday. Heather Graham was spotted arriving at the event, as was Ellen Page. Party guest and singer Todd Michael Schultz tweeted about the bash, saying that it was "a real freakin' party."

NEW YORK — "After Midnight," a musical revue celebrating Duke Ellington's years at the famous Cotton Club nightclub in Harlem in the late `20s and early `30s, will begin new performances far from its original neighborhood – downtown at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway.

Directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with musical direction by Wynton Marsalis, the show appeared off-Broadway last year at New York City Center under the name "Cotton Club Parade." Songs include "Stormy Weather" and "I've Got the World on a String."

Casting and musicians will be announced later. One name swirling around the show is Grammy Award-winner Fantasia Barrino, who recently told the "Today" show that she was returning to Broadway in October, but didn't name the show.

"After Midnight" will open its doors in October.

Christie Brinkley, a gorgeous and successful 59-year-old former supermodel who still poses in swimwear, must have confidence through the roof, right? Well, that wasn't always the case.

The blonde stunner revealed in an interview with Haute Living today that even shefelt uncomfortable in her own skin when her legendary career began. Feeling nostalgic, Christie confessed:

"I came across an older picture of me that someone had posted on Facebook and I totally remember squirming and feeling very fat while I was shooting it," she says with a laugh. "And I look at it now and think, I was actually really thin! How is it possible that I felt so uncomfortable in that body?"

It's comforting to know that even the most beautiful supermodels experience the same insecurities we do -- and moreover, that those models can eventually realize how misguided their insecurities really are. As model Cameron Russell once pointed out "models are the most physically insecure women on the planet," so any small stride helps. Cindy Crawford has also spoken out about her own self image, stating that she hopes to "come to terms" with her own body by the time she reaches 50. (You'd think Cindy was on pretty good terms with her body already...)

Read the rest of Christie's interview at Haute Living. How do you react when you see old photos of yourself?

More models who have aged gracefully:

Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.

Michelle Trachtenberg looks very different in "Killing Kennedy."

The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" alum plays Marina Oswald in the National Geographic Channel's TV movie about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In the film, which is slated to debut in November 2013, Will Rothhaar plays her husband Lee Harvey Oswald, Rob Lowe stars as JFK and "Once Upon a Time's" Ginnifer Goodwin plays Jackie Kennedy.

"We are thrilled to be working with Rob Lowe, Ginnifer Goodwin and Michelle Trachtenberg, three gifted artists whom have responded to this timely, authentic and entertaining material," Howard T. Owens, president of the National Geographic Channels, said in a statement. "With 'Killing Kennedy,' timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, National Geographic Channel continues to bring daring, culturally significant television events to our growing global audience."

The TV film is based on the book of the same name by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard.

Click through the slideshow below to see the rest of the cast in character.

"Get up off your butt and do something."

That is the message stars like Julianne Moore and John Leguizamo, along with We Belong Together campaign, want to send as part of their Fedoras For Fairness initiative in support of comprehensive immigration reform. "Get educated about this issue, remember we're all family, we belong together" says actress Judith Light in a promotional video.

The series of black and white portraits, taken by renowned photographer Albert Watson, show the various stars posing with fedoras. Each one has a personal quote regarding immigration reform, their support for the issue or how it has affected their lives on a more personal level.

"When my mother was eight she immigrated to Los Angeles from El Salvador," says model Christy Turlington Burns.

The star is not the only one to reference her immigrant parents. "Both my father and my stepfather were immigrants," comedian Wyatt Cenac tells viewers. "My mother on some level maybe had a thing for West Indian dudes."

The campaign, which specifically focuses on immigration reform for women, includes a video directed by John Huba, that mimics the tone of the portraits. All the stars have fedoras to represent the many roles women play, or the many "hats" they wear. It symbolizes the need for comprehensive immigration reform that takes into account the needs of women.

Immigration reform is one of the biggest issues concerning the nation today. A bipartisan bill, created by the "Gang of Eight" is currently being amended and debated by lawmakers before it can continue to become law. The bill would provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants while simultaneously strengthening border security.

Watch the Fedoras For Fairness video above and check out all the portraits of the stars below.

"I doubt she'll be like me. Touch wood, and follow that with a lot of love and a lot of luck, she won't go there or have to go there. If unfortunately that does happen, I'll know what to do. Which is make sure she's got the best drugs possible -- and take them with her.''

--Robbie Williams on taking drugs with his daughter if that's what his daughter wants to do.

When "Under the Dome" premieres, viewers will undoubtedly have things to say about the troubled character of Junior Rennie, played by newcomer Alexander Koch. Similarly, Junior's twisted relationship with high school sweetheart Angie (Britt Robertson) takes a somewhat dramatic turn in the premiere, one that differs greatly from the events of Stephen King's novel.

The Huffington Post spoke to both Koch and Robertson on set in North Carolina during the filming of Episode 4, and while Robertson couldn't give many specifics about her role early on in the season -- for reasons that will become obvious later -- Koch spoke candidly about taking on one of King's most memorable characters and the places Junior might go in order to impress his father, Big Jim (Dean Norris). Light spoilers ahead.

Alexander Koch

I understand that this role was your very first after graduating drama school, which must've been incredible.
Yeah, I'm on cloud nine -- nothing could beat this. When I first got the script and when I was first auditioning for it, I just got the character. I loved it. I knew what I wanted to do with the role, so I just got obsessive about it and was working nonstop. I auditioned for, I think, two months or one and a half months with callbacks, but they were a little nervous because I'm so new. But all throughout the holiday, all throughout Christmas, I was reading the book, reading my script. And my family's like, "You know, you can celebrate Christmas. It's OK." And I'm like, "I just need to work." They're just happy I have a job now and I don’t have just 10 dollars in my bank account. [Laughs.]

What should viewers know about Junior going into the show?
There's differences between our series and the book with Junior and where it's going to go. Junior is the All-American boy gone wrong. He's someone who has a very difficult relationship with his father and with his mother. He is broken from that, had a broken childhood, but he is forced to put on a public persona, and be this face of this high school popular kid -- the jock, the bully -- because his father wants him to. And deep down, that's not really who he is, but he puts on the clothes, he puts on the face and the smile, and that's who he has to be. And it kind of weighs on him after awhile.

His relationship with Angie certainly seems to define him as a character, at least early on. How would you describe his dynamic with her?
Angie is kind of Junior's everything and anything ... his dream. After his mother passed away, he has this obsessive need for someone's love, to get it back, and to get that approval from his father. And when he loses Angie, when she starts to leave him, it's like his whole world gets pulled out from under him and he'll do anything to get it back. And ... this dome is coming down and it's defying any logic so what's to say it isn't the reason that she's acting like this? It's doing something psychologically to her and I'm going to help her. And in a way, if I can save her, I can save my mother.

He also has a fairly pivotal run in with Barbie (Mike Vogel). Can you talk about their interactions?
With Barbie, Junior feels very threatened. He's seen Angie and Barbie together in a brief interaction. And he builds up stories in his mind that something else is going on. He's positive it has something to do with [Barbie], and he has something to do with the dome. He's this outsider who came from nowhere and is just causing all this trouble, and it's all stemming from him. And if Junior can keep Angie away from him, he can save her and then he can figure out what Barbie is doing to cause this.

Aside from your scenes with Angie and Big Jim and the encounter with Barbie, do you have any other major interactions that offered you new insight into the character or that you're excited for people to see?
Yeah, in Episode 3, there's a little bit of a thing with me and Julia [Rachelle Lefevre]. I can't reveal too much. But it gets weird -- not on a weird sexual level. [Laughs.] Not like that, but it's like, "Can I trust her because I've seen her with Barbie? And what is she up to? And what's her game?" My father warns me about her.

What kind of research did you do for the role, outside of the book?
I started very much from the book and just piecing together who I thought the character was. Everyone draws from their own life and building off of that, and I haven't had that crazy of a relationship, but I went off that and I was reading a bunch of different books. I read John Fowles' "The Collector," which is close to that, because someone had mentioned that in one of the auditions. It was an interesting book, and I felt it really connected with the character. Then, I just started watching movies that appealed to me that I thought would be in the vein of Junior.

Did you go back and read any of Stephen King's other work?
Oh, I grew up on Stephen King, reading the books. I love the small town, 1950s feel to it, that nostalgia, and that old America. What happens when something weird starts happening to all these people, something other-worldly, something demonic? And what happens when all these people who are from this world get thrown into it? And how we all strive and try to survive through that. I love the show because it feels like an old "Twilight Zone" episode or something.

How do you think you would react if you were trapped under a dome for real?
Oh, God. I don’t know. I would try my best to do something to help people out and get people to rally together because at that point, you don’t know how long you could be stuck in there. You have to figure out things and start working together to survive. But no kidnapping of girlfriends. I would leave that elsewhere. [Laughs.]

One of the main strengths of the book is that it is very much a study of the human condition and how a person's character is tested in the most extreme circumstances. Do you think Stephen got it right, and any town in a similar situation would react the way the people of Chester's Mill do?
It's tough. You watch CNN and you don’t know. I like to think I'm an optimist, but sometimes chaos overthrows. I think the series is about who we are, who these personas are that we put on and we know our friends and neighbors. And then, once that's all stripped from us, what's the stuff that's underneath that's seething and comes out? And what is that going to do? And what happens when you're up in arms against a neighbor in a struggle to save your own family, to save the people you love? It's tough. I think Stephen King definitely did nail it. It's perfect. I think he said we're all underneath the dome in the world. We're all around each other and we're all struggling to survive. It's just now what happens when it's a small town under a very, very tiny microscope?

Has he been on set much over the course of the first few episodes?
Yeah, every now and then. He came to the script reading and I was so nervous because he's one of my favorite writers, reading "The Shining" as a child. And just after the reading he goes, "Oh, you did a great job in the reading. Too bad you're a twisted little fucker." And I was like, "OK, wow -- he's very funny." And he was so enthusiastic. He was like a little boy. He was getting so enthusiastic about scenes that were a little gory, darkly humorous.

As a newcomer, what has been your favorite part of the role so far?
I was just really working on a process of developing this character that really works for me and just focusing and honing in on that. And just watching all the other people work, watching Dean work -- he's just so spot on. And he can just turn on and be this slimy guy and then, when he's in the front of the town, he can be this charming patriarch who can rally all these families together. And it's interesting. I'm trying to talk less and listen more with everyone because everyone's just coming from different places and I have a lot to learn. And it's been great. Everyone's very sweet and very informative.

Britt Robertson (NOTE: SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK AHEAD)

What can you reveal about Angie and her storyline at the beginning of the season?
Angie is a young waitress at the Sweetbriar Rose, which is the local hangout diner, and she works as a candy striper. She's a small town girl who's always dreamed that she would make it out at some point, but hasn't yet; has never had the opportunity. She ends up dating a guy that she's known for a very long time and it's supposed to be a little more casual than he makes it out to be. And because of that relationship, she gets thrown into quite a claustrophobic situation and it's a smaller, enclosed version of the dome. And she's kind of experiencing these horrible circumstances inside a fallout shelter while everyone is dealing with an even larger issue.

Angie's story in the show differs drastically from Stephen King's novel, because she dies in the first few pages ...
Thank God that's not the case. [Laughs.] Obviously, when I read the book, I was a little shocked knowing that my character died and just never came back to life. I kept expecting that she was going to come back to life. I definitely have more to do than the book. And it's actually kind of nice that my character dies early on ... Alex, bless his heart, has to go off of the [book as his] Bible and he has to probably read this thing every other episode. So I'm thankful that I can kind of start with a fresh slate. And it's more challenging because I don’t have as much to go off of, but there's more freedom there. So it's a curse and a blessing, I would say.

Another change from the book is that in the show, Angie's brother is "Scarecrow Joe" (Colin Ford), the computer whizkid, but they weren't related and didn't interact in the novel. What can you say about their relationship?
I do have a scene with Colin, and we're completely unrelated in the book, but I think it is nice, and it was very confusing before I started reading the book and then I was trying to figure out if they are [related]. Our scenes are so funny because I do believe we're very much like brother and sister in real life. I'm always yelling at him and he's always trying to tell me what to do. And I'm just like, "You're 16. Shut up." So it was really fun filming that scene because I just got to do exactly what I do in real life, which is put him in his place, where he needs to be. And I also have a scene with Mike's character, Barbie. So I've had a few scenes with other people, but for the most part, it's just been Alex and I and the old fallout shelter.

In the book, Junior is obviously a very dark and twisted soul. Is he following a similar path on the show?
He's on that path, I would say. I think Alex has done such a great job at transitioning his character from someone that an audience can relate to in the pilot and then, obviously to someone who loses his mind a little and becomes scarier as the scenes go on, and you just see him kind of lose it. He's taking control and he's becoming his father, but he's way more psychologically messed up than his father is, so the potential is there. With Angie, she's known Junior for so long -- they've known each other probably their whole lives, but really well since elementary school. And it's really interesting because she is someone who can read people really well and prides herself on that, so she seess someone who she trusted and understood, to see him turn into this person who she doesn't even understand, she can't rationalize his behavior in any way. It's great because it provides some really interesting conflict and some really cool scenes. But it's very scary to see where it's going to go. He's protecting her and something's wrong with her. Until she becomes better, he's going to make sure that she's safe. And that is crazy.

"Under the Dome" premieres Monday, June 24 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

"Under the Dome" set interviews:
Mike Vogel as Dale "Barbie" Barbara
Dean Norris as James "Big Jim" Rennie
Rachelle Lefevre as Julia Shumway
Natalie Martinez as Linda Everett
Executive Producer Jack Bender

Jodie Sweetin has filed for legal separation  ... TMZ has learned, and a Toyota is on the line.

The "Full House" star filed legal docs in L.A. County, citing irreconcilable differences. She married Morty Coyle in March, 2012.

I wrote a blog post a while ago about what one of my former assistants did after working for me, and in it I wondered why so many of them have had success. My conclusion was:

I honestly don't think I have much to do with it. I think I just pick really smart and motivated people to work with -- people who are probably going to do great things anyway -- and I just teach them what I know, maybe teach them how to think a little clearer than they did before, and then off they go.

So if this is true -- that I had nothing to do with their success, I was just picking the right people to work for me -- it raises the question: What was I seeing in them that I picked them before they were successful?

I wrote a blog post speculating about what I was seeing in those guys before they did great things. I re-read it this morning and realized it was just ex-post rationalizations. I was creating a narrative to explain a set of facts, but I had no real proof for any of it; in fact, reading it now, it's all just bullshit that makes me look good. That type of rationalization is worthless. In fact, it's worse than worthless; it's toxic because it makes you think you have skill where you're probably just lucky.

Then, browsing my RSS feed, I read this interview with the head of HR for Google. It's amazing, and you should read the whole thing. Google is a data monster and analyzes everything; they don't tell themselves made-up stories, they test and measure and see where the proof is. This doesn't always work either (for various reasons, pure reliance on measured data is a bad way to operate because of the inherent limits of human wisdom, see e.g. all of Nassim Taleb's books), but at least they try to strip the made-up stories out and find something objective to look at and think about.

I'll summarize the piece as best I can: Everything they thought mattered in the hiring process was totally worthless.

Google used to use brain teasers and résumés and look at grades and test scores and all the standard ways to find new talent. They analyzed the results and realized it was all a complete waste of time. None of it actually predicted who would do well at their job:

One of the things we've seen from all our data crunching is that G.P.A.'s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless -- no correlation at all except for brand-new college grads, where there's a slight correlation. Google famously used to ask everyone for a transcript and G.P.A.'s and test scores, but we don't anymore, unless you're just a few years out of school. We found that they don't predict anything. ... On the hiring side, we found that brainteasers are a complete waste of time. How many golf balls can you fit into an airplane? How many gas stations in Manhattan? A complete waste of time. They don't predict anything. They serve primarily to make the interviewer feel smart.

Here's what's crazy: They also found that interviews don't even work well, and no one is good at identifying talent ahead of time:

"Years ago, we did a study to determine whether anyone at Google is particularly good at hiring. We looked at tens of thousands of interviews, and everyone who had done the interviews and what they scored the candidate, and how that person ultimately performed in their job. We found zero relationship."

You know what does work? Asking people what they've done:

"Behavioral interviewing also works -- where you're not giving someone a hypothetical, but you're starting with a question like, 'Give me an example of a time when you solved an analytically difficult problem.' The interesting thing about the behavioral interview is that when you ask somebody to speak to their own experience, and you drill into that, you get two kinds of information. One is you get to see how they actually interacted in a real-world situation, and the valuable 'meta' information you get about the candidate is a sense of what they consider to be difficult."

When I interview someone, I tell them I don't care about their résumé. I only care about two things: 1. Tell me what you can do, and 2. Show me examples of where you have actually done these things. I don't want to know anything else, because everything else is puffery, status signaling, or bullshit.

When you frame the interview this way, it forces them to really dig into what skills they have, and how they have been applied, which is really the only thing that matters when you're hiring someone for a job. I knew this intuitively, but I hadn't explicitly understood what I was doing and why. Now I get it.

In hiring my assistants, I didn't have some innate talent at picking stars early; I was just picking people who had already worked hard on their own to develop skills, and then used those skills to do actual things. They were all doing that before they met me, just on a small scale. All I did was teach them where and how to apply those skills and that desire in a more productive way, impactful way. That's it. Anyone can do that, and it means there really isn't some secret sauce to hiring.

There is an incredibly powerful and simple lesson here. If you want to have success you have to do two very basic things:

1. Do the work necessary to develop problem solving skills in the fields you care about, and

2. Apply those skills to solving actual problems.

And if you want to find employees who will be successful, then just look for those two things; a problem-solving skill set, and the successful application of that skill set to real problems.

This can be even further boiled down to this for people: DO THINGS.

And to this for employers: HIRE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE THINGS.

[Note: When I say problem-solving skills, I mean it in the broadest sense possible; writing, designing, programming, engineering, math, thinking, argumentation, reasoning, fixing a flat tire, putting in plumbing, etc., etc. I fully include higher reasoning right next to more functional intelligence as problem solving skills; both solve problems, just very different kinds.]

Think about it: If you don't have any actual, tangible skills, then how can you do anything? You may be laughing and nodding, but do you realize how few people, when asked the basic question, "What can you do?" stumble on the answer and have nothing to say? Most people.

But having those skills alone is not enough. You must actually use them to do actual things that matter to other people. Literally ask yourself, "What can I do?" but follow it up with "Where is the proof?" If you can't find proof of a skill you think you have, then you don't have that skill.

That's ultimately what life is: solving problems. How can you solve problems without the skills necessary? You can't. And how can anyone else know you have those skills, until you've proven it? They can't. And what does all of this take? Some work. Not even that much.

You doubt that? Really?

If you don't have a job right now, and you have a computer and a basic intelligence level, I guarantee you can get a great job, paying really well, in less than three months. How? Learn to program. But you whine, "computer coding is impossible to learn in that time, it takes years." Really? Because lots of people do it in tht time frame. Some of them do it here too.

You can't afford to pay that small tuition? Okay, you can get that info for free with a little more work. It's on Google. Mediocre developers get paid $50,000 to start. Good ones are more than $100,000. You just have to have actual skills.

There's no excuse. It's up to you.

“Drop Dead Diva” came back from the dead on Lifetime and it brought another person back from the dead with it.

In the Season 5 premiere, the original Jane returned and told Jane 2.0, "I want my life back."

"Drop Dead Diva" creator Josh Berman told Entertainment Weekly he was excited to bring the original Jane back along with the series itself. Lifetime canceled "Drop Dead Diva" in January 2013 despite the fact that Season 4's cliffhanger already had viewers eagerly awaiting more. But a month later, the cable network announced it was bringing the show back.

"Since the pilot, fans have asked me over and over again, ‘What happened to the original Jane, the Jane who was shot?’" Berman told EW. "I always knew that I wanted to bring her back, but I felt like I couldn’t bring that character’s soul back until New Jane reached a more elevated state of existence where she was more confident with who she is both in her body and in her profession.”

TV Fanatic's Leigh Raines loved the "Drop Dead Diva" premiere twist. "The moment of the episode goes to Jane meeting Old Jane who might as well be the new Deb," she wrote. "What an interesting twist of fate? Jane hates what Deb did to her, hits the return button and now she's a Deb look alike! Can't wait to see how this all unfolds."

Keep up with all the Jane drama on "Drop Dead Diva," Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

NBC's new series "Crossing Lines" premiered this week and this summer TV cop drama is a bit different than others that've come before it: It's set in Europe with a team of officers from all over the world.

"Crossing Lines" stars "Prison Break" alum William Fichtner as Carl Hickman, a disgraced New York cop who's asked to head up the international team, which will hunt down the world's most brutal serial killers.

HitFix's Alan Sepinwall says "Crossing Lines" bares a resemblance to another crime procedural. "It is ... 'Criminal Minds: Europe,' with the usual stories of creepy men and the women they terrorize being punctuated by continental scenery and moments where one cop's local idiom has to be translated for the others," he wrote.

Even if it does feel a bit familiar, Zap2It's Andrea Reiher liked the "Crossing Lines" premiere. "The team is a colorful group, plus Fichtner is a wonderful leading man. The show also has a feeling of more of a cable show than a network show, so hopefully NBC will keep carrying it because we want to see more," she wrote.

If you want to see more "Crossing Lines," tune in every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

From Liam taking a selfie video with a fan's camera to all that twerking, we've seen some pretty crazy things go down on stage during One Direction's "Take Me Home" tour.

Most recently, 1D turned into a cheerleading squad at a concert in Nashville last week. In a question-and-answer portion of their concert (which seems to always spark some pretty funny moments), one fan asked the boys if they could do a cheerleading stunt.

Without much hesitation, Harry, Zayn, Liam and Louis lifted Niall into the air on stage. Lucky for us, one Directioner filmed the entire performance and posted it to YouTube. You can watch the full stunt in the video above. (Note: Pay special attention around the five-minute mark.)

Now we've really seen it all.

Click through the slideshow below to watch more hilarious moments from One Direction's "Take Me Home" tour and tell us, which one is your favorite? Sound off in the comments or tweet at @HuffPostTeen.

[h/t J-14]

I had the amazing opportunity of seeing Motown: The Musical on Broadway. The play pays homage to music mogul Berry Gordy and the history of Motown. The musical was extremely entertaining and will have you singing along to your favorite oldies-but-goodies from beginning to end.

Most impressive was the remarkable performance by Valisia LeKae, who played Diana Ross. I thought of all the times I played make-believe, put on dresses and makeup, and sang songs by my favorite artists, especially Diana Ross, in the mirror. I have always been a fan of make-believe and fantasy, which is part of my driving passion as a makeup artist. But Valisia as Diana Ross in Motown is not a fantasy or an abstraction from life. It's a transformation that quite honestly is very magical for the audience. My 16-year-old daughter, who didn't know a great deal about Ms. Ross prior, has now downloaded all of her music because of how well Valisia portrayed Diana Ross.

I have always been curious as to how an actress actually transitions into a role. Portraying someone as iconic as Diana Ross is much deeper than just putting on some amazing gowns and singing. Heck, if it were that simple, I'd do it tonight. It's almost like having an outer-body experience as someone else. Was Valisia personally coached by Diana prior to opening night? How much did she study her subject? I was amazed to find out that she had not met Diana during rehearsals. But Valisia did read Diana's book, and she also found out that they both recite Psalm 23.

What is your transformation process like from you to Ms. Ross (mentally and spiritually)?

I've always felt like in my spirit and soul, I have met her. Mentally, I wanted to get to know myself. I wanted to make sure that there were things we had in common, both spiritually and professionally. I've read her book, and there were many similarities in that we both love to perform and entertain. We are both aware of our surroundings, and we want to do everything we can possible to promote what God has blessed us with. I wanted to allow myself to be as truthful as I can, because she is such a phenomenon. I wanted people to see the real, human aspect of her because she really is one of us. It's also great playing such a profound role because the work has already been done, and the streets have already been paved, so that I can enjoy this moment. It is because of people like Diana Ross that I don't have to sneak into the building from the back door to enter. It's because of people like her that I can perform on Broadway, and that I won't be judged for it. So I like to think of her as helping me enjoy this space and be comfortable and just truly take it for what it is.

What inspired you to pursue a career in musical theater?

Becoming a performer just sort of happened for me. I grew up singing wherever they would have me, so it happened very naturally. It was the greatest gift God ever gave me. When I got to New York, I really wanted to be a singer. I became interested in acting by accident. My friend asked me to go do this audition because she didn't want to do it, and since that day it just turned into something entirely else, and I really love it.

With the demands of doing so many shows weekly, how do you take care of yourself on a spiritual and physical level?

The way I start the day is really important to me, and I just wanted to make sure I took time before the day starts to really understand and know myself. I went through a journey of diving into my soul and making sure my relationship with God was really intact. I started this thing called "PM in the AM", which is prayer and meditation in the morning. Before I say hello to anyone or make any phone calls, I just take a good 15-20 minutes to have time to myself, because it really sets the entire mood for my whole day. I've also found that throughout the years, connecting to outdoors is really important to me because it allows me to be in the midst of something that is greater than anything I expect of myself.