Pop Chart

POP-DIVA EDITION

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK

Katy Perry

Her new single, “Roar,” raced to the summit of iTunes’ top-selling-singles chart

Lady Gaga

Her new single, “Applause”–released a week early because of leaks–had to compete with Perry’s

FAST FOOD

The Next Big Taco

Craving a taco at 8 a.m.? Taco Bell has you covered, kind of. Its new take on a breakfast sandwich–eggs, sausage and syrup wrapped in a waffle–was a top seller in five test restaurants, meaning it’s on track for a national rollout. Your move, Pizza Hut.

QUICK TALK

Cuba Gooding Jr.

What’s the worst thing about playing a butler? “That damn coat!” says the 45-year-old Oscar winner, who stars in Lee Daniels’ The Butler (out Aug. 16). “We shot in New Orleans, and some of the wool tuxedos were so hot.” Of course, a role this good–Gooding plays a co-worker of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), the real-life White House butler who served during the civil rights movement–was worth it.

–LILY ROTHMAN

How do you train to play a White House butler?

We had advisers on set, including butlers that worked around town. It’s so funny. Whenever I’m working with an adviser, it isn’t like I ask him questions.

What do you do?

I watch him. Because it’s something he’s doing when he’s not advising that I want to steal for the character–the way he holds his chin, holds his posture, how he undoes his tie.

Have you been to the actual White House?

I’ve gone on a number of occasions, the last one being for the Red Tails movie that premiered there. Obama invited us.

What was that like?

It was awesome. Being in that all-red theater [the Red Room], knowing they watch movies in there–it’s kind of cool.

Your character tells some great dirty jokes in the movie.

Some of which were Lee’s!

I was going to ask you if you had a favorite, but we probably can’t print it.

I’ve been playing ice hockey for 22 years. I’ve been in a lot of locker rooms across America. I’ve heard racier stuff than made the movie.

How about a favorite clean joke?

Why was six afraid of seven?

Because seven eight nine.

There you go!

HAVE A SEAT

Karl Lagerfeld may be best known as the head of Chanel–and the speaker of bons mots like “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat”–but he’s also an accomplished photographer. His stark images, including a shot of Italian architect Gio Ponti’s classic 699 Superleggera chairs, will be on view at the Cassina showroom in London Sept. 14 through 22 as part of the London Design Festival.

NOT-SO-HAPPY ACCIDENT

600

Age, in years, of a statue in Florence whose pinky finger was snapped off by an American tourist–a 55-year-old Missouri native who was reportedly trying to measure the figure’s hand. The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo has said it will repair the statue, which is thought to depict the Virgin Mary.

ZOOPS!

When Animals Escape

Costa Rica’s plan to close all public zoos as part of a new no-cage policy means that by the end of next year, its zoo animals will roam free. But elsewhere in the world, creatures have had to get much more creative to wriggle out of captivity.

Capone the Monkey

In 1935 he led 172 of his cohort at Frank Buck’s Jungle Camp Animal Park on Long Island, New York, across a plank a zookeeper had accidentally left lying across the border moat

Evelyn the Gorilla

During the 1990s and early ’00s, she escaped the Los Angeles Zoo four or five times; in one instance, she jumped onto another gorilla’s back to hop over the wall

The Unnamed Egyptian Cobra

Although it’s unclear whether this reptile actually escaped in 2011 (it was found hiding in the Reptile House at the Bronx Zoo), it caused panic and inspired a Twitter parody

Humboldt the Penguin

In 2012 the Tokyo Sea Life Park resident scaled a rock wall twice his height–especially impressive considering that penguins can’t fly–and took refuge in a nearby river

Rusty the Red Panda

Last month he was found wandering in a residential Washington, D.C., neighborhood not far from his home at the National Zoo; officials speculate he climbed a tree to get out

AMERICANA THE BEAUTIFUL

As part of “American Modern: Hopper to O’Keeffe” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City–which highlights work from 1915 to 1950–the idyllic American countryside of Charles Sheeler’s Bucks County Barn, right, will be displayed alongside scenes of bustling urban society from Walker Evans to show how contemporary realities clashed with rural nostalgia. The exhibit runs Aug. 2 through Jan. 26.

TRENDING

@SolWaveHouse

Most people jet-set to avoid the Internet. Not so at Spain’s shoreside Sol Wave House. The world’s first Twitter-themed hotel lets guests access its Twitter-powered community and even tweet things like “#FillMyFridge” for concierge service.

Not an actual Simpsons Lego–sorry!

SIMPSONS

Block Party

Homer and his clan already have a movie, a theme park and an edition of Monopoly. So this new line of Legos–due in 2014–seems like a natural next step in their ongoing quest for world domination. Already, however, some have protested that the snarky Simpsons may not be “appropriate” for Lego kids. D’oh!

3 THINGS YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS WEEK

1. Sharknado’s sequel toning down its campiness.

The TV movie will be called Sharknado 2: The Second One.

2. Bieber’s ability to elicit eye rolls.

TMZ published photos of the pop star visiting his grandma’s house wearing a guitar–and only a guitar.

3. Falling asleep on your Virgin Atlantic flight. For a limited time, flights from Heathrow to Edinburgh and Manchester will have comedy performers in the aisles.

FOR TIME’S COMPLETE TV AND FILM COVERAGE, VISIT entertainment time.com