It's November, which means it's officially time to think about the Oscars. People are already placing bets on the top performances even if they haven't seen them yet (think the soon-to-be-released and highly-anticipated 'Nine'). There are some actresses who have been on the road to Oscardom ever since they began emoting; others found a way out of their earlier career mishaps and have reinvented themselves. PopEater looks at the "best of the best" and asks the critics to weigh in. (And be sure to check out our Actor Edition.)

It's November, which means it's officially time to think about the Oscars. People are already placing bets on the top performances even if they haven't seen them yet (think the soon-to-be-released and highly-anticipated 'Nine'). There are some actors who have been on the road to Oscardom ever since they began emoting; others found a way out of their earlier career mishaps and have reinvented themselves into serious actors. Popeater looks at the "best of the best" and asks the critics to weigh in.

Unlike her late brother, Janet Jackson's life hasn't been as scrutinized. Throughout her career, she's maintained an aura of mystery, successfully keeping much of her private life private -- a feat in today's Internet age when too much info is divulged instantaneously online. We look at some of the rumors that have followed Janet (who releases a greatest hits CD this week) throughout her career.

Janet Has a Daughter? Rumor has it that Janet's got an 18-year old daughter named Renee whom she supposedly had with her old flame, James DeBarge (remember when they were an item? No? OK, so you're not as old as us.) This one has been going as far back as 2005. People with longer memories than us claim that she rushed her marriage to DeBarge (which was annulled a year later) because she had a bun in the oven; some people remember her seeming pregnant at an awards show around that time. But producer Jimmy 'Jam' Harris says it was impossible; they were recording her breakout album 'Control' at that time, and he says she wasn't pregnant then. So there.

We at PopEater love our scenes of mass destruction. So, it seems, do moviegoers and TV addicts. 'Lost' started out with a plane crash. 'V' unfurled with an alien invasion. And 'Flash Forward''s simultaneous blackouts caused ships to sink and planes to fall out of the sky. Coming out this week is the long-awaited film '2012,' which deals with -- what else -- the end of the world. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the same mind behind 'Independence Day' and 'The Day After Tomorrow,' about alien invasions and enviro-disasters, respectively.

At the end of the ten-minute opening scene of the re-imagining of 'V' (debuting tonight on ABC), two overly excited guys are being interviewed by TV. "Dude! This is Independence Day!" one of them says of the by-now familiar site of giant spaceships hovering in the sky. "Which was a rip off of any number of alien invasion predecessors," says his annoyed friend. It's a smart, self-aware way to deflect the obvious: by now we've seen so many alien invasion images, that you'd think we'd be pretty blase about it in real life. (Another giant spaceship hovering over a major city? Booooring.) And when you factor in the all-true scenes of 9-11, alien invasions can be pretty boring, indeed.

Let's take a look back at some of the most memorable alien movie and TV invasions to get a better look at the originators and the copycats.

We already know that death sometimes pays off for artists. In Michael Jackson's case, death is paying off in dollars ($20 million worldwide so far), but will it pay off in pretty gold statuettes? Elizabeth Taylor might have been a tad hyperbolic when she Tweeted: "It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity. If that weren't enough, she also said, "I truly believe this film should be nominated in every category conceivable."

Before you sniff at her assessment, consider: Google News tells us there's already 5,249 news stories for the search: "This Is It Oscar." Not only that, but Sony this week announced plans to submit the flick for several categories.

Matthew Broderick just can't catch a break. Though the actor has a long history on Broadway, lately it seems he gets a beating pretty much every time he steps on stage. Though he had a great run with 'The Producers' in 2001 with Nathan Lane, his latest, 'Starry Messenger,' was actually delayed after he and several other actors required the use of an off-stage prompter. And earlier this year he was in 'The Philanthropist,' which garnered a smackdown from the New York Times that read: "Mr. Broderick seems to be in his own play, some sort of sendup of a crummy farce from the British provinces circa 1930."

"Mr. Broderick" is just one of many movie stars taking a turn on the stage. Stars like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathleen Turner, and Denzel Washington have long histories in theatre. And actors like Jude Law, Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman get mostly good reviews -- helped greatly by the strength of their material. Not everyone is so lucky. We take a look back at some of the successful and not-so-successful runs of other movie stars hoping to flex their acting chops on Broadway.