NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Ask a group of pro wrestling fans to name their favorite lord of the ring and you might get 10 different answers.

Older fans grew up idolizing Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair while newer fans might list Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

Yet ask those same people to pick their favorite wrestler-turned-movie star and the decision gets a whole lot easier.

There's only one choice.

Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, has starred in three movies over the past three months, "Snitch," "G.I Joe: Retaliation" and "Pain & Gain," and each film was the top new release at the box office its opening weekend.

His next movie, "Fast & Furious 6," will have to face down "The Hangover Part III" and "Epic" to keep that streak alive, but no one questions whether it will be a hit. Every film in the franchise has been, and early projections suggest the only question is whether it will hit $500 million, $750 million or $1 billion worldwide.

Johnson is currently in the midst of a streak unheard of not only in the history of former wrestlers but also other athletes who tried to cross over into the film business. Hogan, Cena, Shaq and even O.J. Simpson made a few movies, but none of them became a bona fide movie star. (Note: One sage reader pointed out that we forgot about Olympic swimming gold medalists Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe, who became "Tarzan" and "Flash Gordon," respectively. How could we forget Weissmuller's yell?)

"Everyone sitting in my chair is trying to work with Dwayne," Jeff Kirschenbaum, co-president of production at Universal, which has released five movies starring Johnson, told TheWrap. "I don't think he's having a moment. This isn't his 15 seconds of fame. He now has enough experience and craftsmanship that it's going to be a long run."

While this isn't the first time Johnson has been atop the box office, this is his first uninterrupted string of hits. His early films ranged from financially successful ("The Scorpion King," "The Game Plan," "The Tooth Fairy") to disappointing ("Doom," "The Rundown").

"I don't know that no one took him seriously because of wrestling, but he's the only person who has ever truly emerged out of that," an individual close to Johnson, who declined to be identified, told TheWrap.

So how did this happen? How did a former football player and member of the inimitable Rock 'n' Sock Connection became one of the most successful actors working today?

It starts with protein.

"He wakes up at 4 a.m. just so he can eat protein," Kirschenbaum, skinny as the Rock is broad, said. "He goes back to bed for an hour and at 5 a.m. he works out - when most people aren't even awake. He woke up an hour early just so the protein is already there to build muscle."

Johnson's morning routine has become a Hollywood legend, alongside Sean Penn's partying and Amanda Bynes' drunk driving.

Ask anyone who's worked with Johnson why he has succeeded where others have failed and they jump to tell a story about those pre-dawn workouts. It's what Ric Roman Waugh, who directed Johnson in "Snitch," dubbed the actor's "sweat equity."

"A lot of people can say 'we worked hard and can stay up late'," Waugh said. "But if they could only understand the amount of stuff he's putting into one day, it's astounding. The sky could be falling in his world, but in that moment you need him to focus, he's 100 percent with you."

That workload has only increased over the past two years. Since resurrecting his wrestling career in 2012, Johnson has expanded his film and TV work. Not only is he starring in several movies this year, but he just produced his first film, "Snitch," and is about to host a competition show on TNT, "The Hero."

When he first decided to try his hand at acting, Johnson retired from the WWE at the height of his popularity. Yet his specific wrestling personality explains why Johnson found his way in Hollywood where the likes of Hogan and Cena did not.

Like most any other wrestler, he can use his hands or a two-by-four to destroy someone. He demonstrated as much in early films like "The Scorpion King," where he played a mercenary, and "Walking Tall," where he played a veteran eager to rid his town of corruption.

Kirschenbaum described those early performances as "raw," and those early characters as two-dimensional. That is where the career path of most former pro wrestlers both started and stopped.

"Most wrestlers have been straight-forward characters or amped up versions of the real individual," Adi Shankar, producer of "The Grey" and an avid wrestling fan, told TheWrap. "Hulk Hogan acted in a bunch of B-movies playing Hulk Hogan."

Instead, Johnson and his representatives experimented from the get-go, taking roles most wrestlers would not want to touch.

He played the straight man next to Sean William Scott in "The Rundown," which also called for him to get dry humped by a gaggle of baboons.

He then played a gay bodyguard in "Be Cool," and later entered the family area with "Tooth Fairy" and "Journey 2." All of his hits in 2013 feature action scenes, but "Snitch" is an adult drama and "Pain & Gain" is as quirky as a Michael Bay movie comes.

"Most action stars out there would never ever break their brand," Waugh, a former stunt man, said. "They would read a script and see a scene where they get beat down and say the guy has to punch me at least 10 times and hit me with a bat 14 times. Dwayne is completely fearless."

Unlike most of his peers, Johnson's popularity in wrestling was never predicated on physical prowess or intimidation.

"Stone Cold would get over because he'd beat everyone up. Shawn Michaels was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Mick Foley would just do crazy stuff," Shankar said. "The Rock got over because he was funny. You take humor out of the Rock and you don't have anything."

Shankar can remember when he first fell in love with The Rock. The Undertaker, one of the largest, most intimidating wrestlers in the WWE, had just battered and bruised the former football player. At the next event, The Rock came out and challenged him.

"He said 'Undertaker, you think you impress The Rock with your Mickey Mouse tattoos?' He acted like the Undertaker's goal in life was to come out and impress The Rock," Shankar recalled. "He wasn't a heavyweight champion at this point - just a guy coming up. The Undertaker had been around for a decade."

He was a showman first and a wrestler second.

"No matter how bad the show was, The Rock could cut a promo and save it," Shankhar said. "He could get on the mic and speak for three minutes and save a bad show."

Some claim the same now applies to poorly received films, with some dubbing Johnson franchise Viagra. Did your last sequel fail? Hire Johnson.

Some, like Waugh, love this term. Yet many chafe against the idea that Johnson saved their movies, believing it disrespectful to the previous success of the franchises he joined.

Whether Viagra or a supporting hand, there is one thing all directors and studio executives can agree on.

"My biggest concern on my next movie is that he's not in it,"Waugh said.

"We are negotiating but we don't have an economic agreement yet," Cerezo told Spanish broadcaster Canal Plus.

The 28-year-old former Juventus and Werder Bremen midfielder spent the 2011-2012 season on loan at Atletico helping them to win the Europa League when he scored in their 3-0 final victory over compatriots Athletic Bilbao.

Atletico are assured of automatic qualification for next sesaon's Champions League group stage after securing third place in La Liga and face Real Madrid in the King's Cup final on Friday. (Reporting by Mark Elkington, editing by Ken Ferris)

Plenty.

Let me start with the drunks and new parents. Monday night I boarded a very delayed flight fromto . Behind me were four 20/30-somethings boisterously swigging from "coffee" cups. (Our gate was across from a Cantina and you could practically smell the tequila in their paper cups.)

As the boarding continued they grew increasingly animated. Their frenetic energy seemed to wind up not just each other but everyone around them. Fellow passengers were visibly agitated.

Just before the plane doors closed, a young couple came on with a sleeping baby. The last two open seats were amongst this motley crew.

Suddenly, everything changed.

The presence of the earnest and exhausted parents had an immediate calming effect on both the inebriated passengers and those around them. It was as if a mirror had been placed in the center of the plane to remind us all of our humanity.

Enter, Jo Piazza's delicious new book, .

To me, this book is the figurative version of the newborn's parents getting on the plane. It serves as a mirror reflecting back the reality what's in the "coffee" cups of the celebrity scene.

That got me wondering what other financial lessons the author of Celebrity, Inc. might have stumbled across while writing this fascinating book. Thankfully, Jo Piazza was willing to share with us...

Q: Of the celebrities you profile in Celebrity, Inc. whose money attitude were you most impressed with and why?

(2) What surprised you the most about the money habits you observed during your Celebrity, Inc. research?

(3) What personal finance lessons do you think the rest of us can take away from the way famous people live their lives?

In many ways our celebrity culture is like a group of chaotic drunk people. It lurches rapidly from one topic and fad to the next. In the heat of the excitement money can feel like no object. But the financial hangover of being, or trying to emulate, that lifestyle can result in a serious financial crash.

So pick up a copy of Celebrity, Inc. and tell me what you think. Does our national obsession with the lifestyles of the rich and famous ever cause you to do things with your money that you later regret?

[This post originally appeared at .] For more MoneyZen in your life, follow Manisha on Twitter aton Facebook ator sign up to receive Manisha's MoneyZen blog via email .

The politically volatile debate reflects a reality that's difficult for parents, including the president, to swallow: Quite a number of teenagers have sex. So how easily should they be able to get a pill that prevents pregnancy if taken soon enough after sex?

On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration made it a little easier, saying anyone 15 or older could begin buying one brand, Plan B One-Step, without a prescription two years younger than the current age limit of 17 and that the pill no longer has to be locked behind pharmacy counters.

But it's far from clear whether that will happen. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York had given the FDA until Monday to lift all age limits on Plan B and a cheaper generic, mandating that emergency contraception be sold just like aspirin. Instead, by requiring that buyers prove their age at the cash register, the FDA decided to treat it like beer.

The Justice Department hasn't said whether it will appeal Korman's order and thus back FDA's new approach, and that leaves the whole issue in limbo.

"This is a truly bizarre and unprecedented situation," said American University law professor Lewis A. Grossman, a specialist in food and drug law.

On Wednesday, doctors' groups, led by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, urged the Obama administration not to let the FDA action be the last word.

Any over-the-counter access marks a long-awaited change, but it's not enough, said Dr. Cora Breuner of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which supports nonprescription sale of the morning-after pill for all ages.

"We still have the major issue, which is our teen pregnancy rate is still too high," Breuner said.

Even though few young girls likely would use Plan B, which costs about $50 for a single pill, "we know that it is safe for those under 15," she said.

Most 17- to 19-year-olds are sexually active, and 30 percent of 15- and 16-year-olds have had sex, according to a study published last month by the journal Pediatrics. Sex is much rarer among younger teens. Likewise, older teens have a higher pregnancy rate, but that study also counted more than 110,000 pregnancies among 15- and 16-year-olds in 2008 alone.

The White House sought Wednesday to put much as much distance as possible between President Barack Obama and this political hot potato.

"The president, the White House, did not weigh in on this decision," White House spokesman Jay Carney said of the FDA's move.

Obama must balance his own instincts as the father of two school-age daughters with the wishes of numerous political constituencies, including women's groups whose influence runs deep within the Democratic Party. It was just last week that Obama became the first president to address Planned Parenthood in person, telling the abortion rights group that as long as women must fight to make their own health choices, "you've also got a president who's going to be right there with you fighting every step of the way."

Contraception advocates see a double standard. No one is carded when buying a condom, but under the FDA's decision they would have to prove their age when buying a pill to prevent pregnancy if that condom breaks.

"This isn't a compromise. This is wrong," said Cynthia Pearson of the National Women's Health Network.

Likewise, social conservatives were outraged by the FDA's move, saying it was important for parents and medical professionals to be involved in such decisions involving teens.

"This decision undermines the right of parents to make important health decisions for their young daughters," said Anna Higgins of the Family Research Council. She added that removing the prescription requirement meant "teens and women will avoid necessary medical screenings" that could detect serious problems.

The FDA had been poised to lift all age limits and let Plan B sell over the counter in late 2011, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in an unprecedented move, overruled her own scientists. Sebelius said some girls as young as 11 were physically capable of bearing children but shouldn't be able to buy the pregnancy-preventing pill on their own.

Ruling earlier this month in a lawsuit challenging that decision, Korman blasted the Obama administration for letting election-year politics trump science. The judge called the morning-after pill "among the safest drugs sold over the counter," and gave the government 30 days to lift all age limits.

Obama aides bristled at the suggestion that the FDA decision was an attempt at political compromise, insisting the FDA merely responded to an application filed by Plan B's manufacturer which sought the 15 age limit and over-the-counter sales.

At the same time, Carney signaled that a policy allowing 15-year-olds to buy the pill off the shelf would be more palatable to Obama than the prospect of 11-year-olds having unfettered access. Pointing to Obama's comments in support of Sebelius back in 2011, Carney said, "he referred to younger girls, and I believe so did Secretary Sebelius."

If a woman already is pregnant, the morning-after pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. According to the medical definition, pregnancy doesn't begin until a fertilized egg implants itself into the wall of the uterus. Still, some critics say Plan B is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it may also be able to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, a contention that many scientists and Korman, in his ruling said has been discredited.

[More from BGR: ]

Matthew Warren, a lawyer for Google who is also representing Samsung, explained to the judge that turning over the requested information Apple is seeking could lead to future discovery that we dont think theyre entitled to and give the company ideas about how to proceed that they wouldnt have had.

[More from BGR: ]

The latest patent infringement case between Apple and Samsung concerns newer smartphone models, including the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III. Apple was previously awarded $450.5 million in damages from Samsung, however a second hearing concerning damages.

This article was

Due diligence is underway after a term sheet was signed, Calcalist said, adding that talks began six months ago.

Waze uses satellite signals from members' smartphones to generate maps and traffic data, which it then shares with other users, offering real-time traffic info.

Officials at Waze declined to comment on the report.

Waze and Facebook partnered in October 2012 when Waze released its updated version that allows users to share their drive with their Facebook friends.

This would be Facebook's third acquisition in Israel. It bought Snaptu in 2011 for $70 million and Face.com in 2012 for $60 million.

In the last year, Waze tripled its user base to 45 million and in March alone, 1.5 million users downloaded the free mobile navigation app, Calcalist said.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by David Cowell)

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, was released on Wednesday afternoon.

Police detained Hussein earlier in the day following disturbances on Tuesday at a disputed hilltop compound in Jerusalem's Old City.

Jews revere the site as the Temple Mount, while Muslims call it the "Harem al-Sharif," or "Noble Sanctuary." The site is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Palestinians condemned the detention, and Jordan's parliament, in a symbolic gesture, called for the kingdom to expel the Israeli ambassador.

Defense lawyer Charles Kwaramba said state prosecutors used a contentious appeal law to stop a court order to free Solomon Madzore, head of the youth wing of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party, on $100 bail.

Madzore, at an election rally, allegedly called President Robert Mugabe, 89, "a limping donkey" who should be put out to pasture.

He faces a fine or several months' imprisonment. Arrests for insulting Mugabe are common in Zimbabwe. At least 60 have been arrested and charged with insulting Mugabe since 2010, according to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

Also Tuesday, Zimbabwean police took in for questioning two journalists from an independent newspaper on allegations of publishing "falsehoods" against state institutions involving reports that generals and security chiefs were willing to meet with Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai would like to speak to security chiefs about reforms in the armed forces he says are needed before the elections expected around September.

Dumisani Muleya, editor of The Independent, a business and political weekly newspaper, and chief reporter Owen Gagare were released later in the day after police said their investigations into the allegations were continuing.

Mugabe's two topmost generals have said publicly that they will not meet with Tsvangirai and the Independent's reports that other generals are willing to meet with Tsvangirai allegedly demoralized the ranks of the police and military and jeopardized state security.

Media freedom groups immediately warned of a renewed clampdown against journalists ahead of the upcoming elections.

"We still have all the apparatus of a police state," despite a referendum that overwhelmingly accepted a new constitution in March that envisages an end to sweeping media curbs, said the independent Zimbabwe National Editors' Forum.

The intimidation of the two senior journalists came days after the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day, said the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe.

"It is undemocratic for the state to seek and continue to criminalize the work of professional journalists," it said.

Rights groups say there has been an increase in arrests and intimidation of media staff and Mugabe's opponents as the nation prepares for elections to end the shaky coalition brokered by regional leaders in 2009 after violent and disputed elections in 2008 that made Tsvangirai, 60, the former opposition leader, the country's prime minister.

Sweeping security laws make it an offense to undermine the authority of the president.

"Obnoxious" security and media laws have been used by police loyal to Mugabe to stifle media freedom and political campaigning by his opponents, said the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.

"It is saddening to note Zimbabwe is still saddled with an arsenal of repressive media and criminal laws that are too broad or vague," the group said.

The Air Force's reached a top speed of Mach 5.1 during the test flight, traveling more than 230 nautical miles in just over six minutes before crashing into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast as planned, Air Force officials announced today (May 3).

Wednesday's flight used the last of four X-51A vehicles built by Boeing for the Air Force experiments. While the previous test, in August 2012, , Wednesday's mission pulled off the longest air-breathing hypersonic flight ever, officials said.[]

"It was a full mission success," Charlie Brink, X-51A program manager for the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate, said in a statement.

The X-51A took off Wednesday morning from Edwards Air Force Base in California under the wing of a B-52H Stratofortress. The Waverider was released at an altitude of approximately 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) and used a solid rocket booster to accelerate to Mach 4.8 in just 26 seconds.

The Waverider then separated from the rocket and sped up to Mach 5.1 at an altitutde of 60,000 feet (18,300 m), powered by its air-breathing supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engine, officials said.

The X-51A burned up the scramjet's four-minute fuel supply and was destroyed as expected upon impacting the Pacific Ocean. All told, the vehicle returned 370 seconds of flight data.

While there is no plan to build any more X-51A vehicles, officials said the $300 million technology demonstration program, which began in 2004, leaves a valuable legacy.

"I believe all we have learned from the X-51A Waverider will serve as the bedrock for future hypersonics research and ultimately the practical application of hypersonic flight," Brink said.

is generally defined as anything that reaches speeds above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. (The speed of sound at sea level is about 762 mph, or 1,226 km/h.)

While most other hypersonic vehicles use hydrogen propellant, the X-51A's scramjet is powered by hydrocarbon fuel, which Air Force officials say is more logistically feasible and could allow the technology to be applied on a broader scale.

The first X-51A test flight occurred in May 2010. It was hailed as a success, as the vehicle flew for more than three minutes and reached Mach 4.88. The next two flights, in June 2011 and August 2012, both failed.

The U.S. military has been studying hypersonic flight in order to develop new weapons capable of striking targets anywhere on Earth within an hour. In addition to the Air Force's work with the X-51A, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched two test flights of its HTV hypersonic bomber prototype, which reached Mach 20 in an August 2011 test flight before losing control.

While that 2011 HTV mission lasted nine minutes, the vehicle only demonstrated controlled flight for three minutes during the test. The HTV was also a glider vehicle, and not an air-breathing scramjet.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitterand.Follow us , or . Originally published on

Sales of the iPhone 5 helped Apple's volumes grow 6.6 percent to 37.4 million phones in the quarter from a year earlier, but that was not enough to stop its share of the market dropping to 17.3 percent from 23 percent, research firm IDC said.

A flood of cheaper Android-powered devices from the South Korean maker lifted its shipments about 60 percent to 70.7 million, giving it a 32.7 percent of the market, up from 28.8 percent a year earlier.

During the first quarter Samsung shipped more smartphones than the next four vendors combined, IDC said.

The research firm said it was eager to see how new phones from Samsung using its Tizen operating system will look and fit into the company's product line-up.

Of the top five vendors, only Apple lost market share, with LG Electronics Inc, Huawei and ZTE Corp making incremental gains.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)