Reports: Jet went down off Vietnam

• NEW: Missing plane crashed off the southern coast of Vietnam, Asian media report


• "We have no idea where this aircraft is," Malaysia Airlines vice president says


• In Beijing, relatives gather in a hotel


• Flight was carrying 239 people, including 2 infants

(CNN) -- A missing Malaysia Airliner carrying 229 people crashed off the southern coast of Vietnam, Vietnamese and Chinese state media reported Saturday, both citing Vietnam's military.

But Malaysia has no information that any wreckage has been found of the missing plane and no confirmation of a crash, acting transport minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told journalists Saturday.

The reports came hours after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft about 2:40 a.m. local time (1:40 p.m. ET Friday), Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji said on CNN's "AC360."

"At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now," Sharuji said.

Tuoi Tre, a leading daily in Vietnam, reported that the Vietnamese navy confirmed the plane crashed into the ocean. According to navy Adm. Ngo Van Phat, a regional commander, military radar recorded that the plane crashed into the sea south of Phu Quoc island. The People's Daily, Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, reported the same information.

China deployed two rescue ships to the South China Sea on Saturday as the search intensified, state-run broadcaster CCTV said.

Family and friends of many of the 154 Chinese nationals on board gathered at a hotel complex in the Lido district of Beijing. A large group of reporters gathered outside.

"My son was only 40 years old," one woman wailed as she was led inside. "My son, my son -- what am I going to do?"

The Ministry of Transportation in Malaysia said 80% of family members of those onboard had been contacted.

The Boeing 777-200 departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12:41 a.m. and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m., a 2,300-mile (3,700 kilometer) trip. It was carrying 227 passengers, two of them infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said. Air traffic control in Subang, in Malaysia, had last contact with the plane.

If this aircraft has crashed with a total loss, it would the deadliest aviation incident since November 2001 when an American Airlines Airbus A300 crashed in Belle Harbor, Queens, shortly after takeoff from JFK Airport. Killed were 265 people, including five people on the ground.

At the time of its disappearance, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was carrying about 7.5 hours of fuel, Sharuji said.

The passengers are of 13 nationalities, the airline said. Nationalities and the number for each of passengers on the flight were:

-- China and Taiwan,154

-- Malaysia, 38

-- Indonesia, 12

-- Australia, 7

-- United States, 4

-- France, 3

-- New Zealand, 2

-- Ukraine, 2

-- Canada, 2

-- Russia, 1

-- Italy, 1

-- Netherlands, 1

-- Austria, 1

One infant from the United States and another from China were included in the tally.

By CNN's math, that adds up to 228 passengers, one more than the total cited by the airline. There was no immediate explanation offered for the apparent discrepancy.

Malaysia Airlines said it was working with the authorities who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft. The airline said the public can call +603 7884 1234 for further information.

The airline's website said the flight was piloted by Cap. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, a Malaysian. He has 18,365 total flying hours and joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, the website said. The first officer is Fariq Ab.Hamid, 27, a Malaysian with a total of 2,763 flying hours. He joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007.

China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said the flight lost contact and its radar signal as it was flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang ordered authorities to start emergency measures to strengthen communications with Malaysian authorities, and called for boosting search and rescue efforts as well as verifying details of the Chinese passengers aboard, China's government website reported.

China's embassy in Malaysia has formed an emergency team headed by the Chinese ambassador to deal with the incident, it said.

"We're closely monitoring reports on Malaysia flight MH370," Boeing said in a tweet. "Our thoughts are with everyone on board."

"It doesn't sound very good," retired American Airlines Capt. Jim Tilmon told CNN's "AC360." He noted that the route is mostly overland, which means that there would be plenty of antennae, radar and radios to contact the plane.

"I've been trying to come up with every scenario that I could just to explain this away, but I haven't been very successful."

He said the plane is "about as sophisticated as any commercial airplane could possibly be," with an excellent safety record.

"The lack of communications suggests to me that something most unfortunate has happened," said Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in an interview with CNN International. "But that, of course, does not mean that there are not many persons that need to be rescued and secured. There's still a very urgent need to find that plane and to render aid."

There is one recent blemish for the Boeing jet: An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 carrying 291 passengers struck a seawall at San Francisco International Airport in July 2013, killing three people and wounding dozens more.

Malaysia Airlines operates in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and on the route between Europe and Australasia.

It has 15 of the Boeing 777-200 planes in its fleet, CNN's Richard Quest reported.

Part of the company is in the private sector, but the government owns most of it.

Malayan Airways Limited began flying in 1937 as an air service between Penang and Singapore. A decade later, it began flying commercially as the national airline.

In 1963, when Malaysia was formed, the airline was renamed Malaysian Airlines Limited.

Within 20 years, it had grown from a single aircraft operator into a company with 2,400 employees and a fleet operator.

Malaysia Airlines loses contact with Boeing 777-200

• NEW: Jet would have run out of fuel by now, airline official says


• The Boeing 777-200 departed Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing


• Search-and-rescue team has been activated


• Flight was carrying 239 people, including 2 infants

(CNN) -- A passenger flight carrying 239 people en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing is missing, Malaysia Airlines said Saturday.

The airline said in a statement that Subang Air Traffic Control in Malaysia lost contact with Flight MH370 at 2:40 a.m. (1:40 p.m. ET Friday).

The Boeing 777-200 departed Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 12:41 a.m.

The Boeing 777-200 departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m., a 2,300-mile (3,700 kilometer) trip.

It was carrying 227 passengers, two of them infants, and 12 crew members, it said.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft," the statement said. The public can call +603 7884 1234 for further information.

"At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now," Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji told CNN's "AC360."

The jet was carrying about 7.5 hours of fuel and would likely have run out of fuel, he said.

Efforts to contact the plane had been fruitless.

"It doesn't sound very good," retired American Airlines Capt. Jim Tilmon told CNN's "AC360." He noted that the route is mostly overland, which means that there would be plenty of antennae, radar and radios to contact the plane.

"I've been trying to come up with every scenario that I could just to explain this away, but I haven't been very successful."

He said the plane is "about as sophisticated as any commercial airplane could possibly be," with an excellent safety record.

There is one blemish: An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 carrying 291 passengers struck a seawall at San Francisco International Airport in July 2013, killing three people and wounding dozens more.

Malaysia Airlines operates in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and on the route between Europe and Australasia.

The airline's roots date back to 1937, when it operated passenger and cargo flights in Malaysia.

In April 1942, it was incorporated as Malaysia Airways Limited; it later became Malaysia Airlines.

The airline has its headquarters and registered office at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Malaysia, and its main airline hub is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, according to its website.

Stop eating so much sugar. Seriously.

• The World Health Organization proposes new guidelines for sugar consumption


• WHO says we should eat less than 5% of our total daily calories from sugars


• For an adult with a normal BMI, 5% is around 25 grams of sugar


• Of big concern is the role sugars play in causing dental diseases worldwide

(CNN) -- The World Health Organization wants you to stop eating so much sugar. Seriously.

In draft guidelines proposed this week, WHO is encouraging people to consume less than 5% of their total daily calories from sugars. The organization's current guidelines, published in 2002, recommend eating less than 10% of your total daily calories from sugars.

Most Americans still consume much more.

Our sweet tooth increased 39% between 1950 and 2000, according to the USDA. The average American now consumes about three pounds of sugar each week.

"There is increasing concern that consumption of free sugars, particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, may result in ... an increase in total caloric intake, leading to an unhealthy diet, weight gain and increased risk of noncommunicable diseases," WHO said in a statement.

Report: Sugar raises heart concerns

Sugar and fat: What's worse?

Put down that sugar!

Of particular concern, WHO said, is the role sugar plays in causing dental diseases worldwide.

For an adult at a normal body mass index, or BMI, eating 5% would be around 25 grams of sugar -- or six teaspoons. That's less than is typically found in a single can of regular soda, which contains about 40 grams of sugar.

Real or fake sugar: Does it matter?

To find the amount of calories from sugar in a product, multiply the grams by 4. For example, a product containing 15 grams of sugar has 60 calories from sugar per serving, according to the American Heart Association. If you eat 2,000 calories a day, that's 3%.

WHO's proposed guidelines apply to sugars added to foods by manufacturers, as well as those found naturally in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates. They do not apply to those found in fresh produce.

"Much of the sugars consumed today are 'hidden' in processed foods that are not usually seen as sweets," the WHO website states.

Did you know sugar is often added to your frozen pizza? How about your bread, soup, yogurt and mayonnaise? As consumers became more concerned about the amount of fat in their food, manufacturers went out of their way to make low-fat items -- often substituting sugar to preserve the taste.

Choosing foods with fewer added sugars at the grocery story may soon get a little easier. The Food and Drug Administration has proposed several changes to the nutrition labels you see on packaged foods and beverages.

The proposed labels would also note how much added sugar is in a product. Right now, it's hard to know what is naturally occurring sugar and what has been added by the manufacturer.

The WHO guidelines will be open for public comment until March 31. Then WHO will finalize and publish its recommendations.

Disturbing tales from Crimea

• Journalists are threatened, cameras stolen, channels blocked


• Crimea coverage shows tensions in crisis over Ukraine


• Hotel orders CNN to stop broadcasts

(CNN) -- Unidentified men attack journalists, brandishing guns, and snatch cameras. Local television channels are suddenly blocked or replaced. An international news organization is told by a hotel manager to stop broadcasting.

These are just some tales from the field in Crimea, the embattled Ukrainian peninsula that's at the heart of the struggle between Moscow, Kiev and the West.

As the world watches a region on the brink of war, stories of harassment and internal pressures are making headlines. A U.N. envoy was threatened by armed men and driven out of the country. A Ukrainian worker must think carefully before answering his boss' question: European military observers, invited by the Ukrainian government, are stopped at a checkpoint by armed and masked men, one of whom says in Russian: "I've been ordered by the government of Crimea not to let anyone in."

It's on the media to help provide an accurate picture of what's happening on the ground in Crimea. And now that picture is becoming more difficult to paint. Some would say, what's happening, is downright disturbing.

CNN reporter told to stop broadcasting

OSCE monitors denied entry into Crimea

CNN crew unable to report outside hotel

A security camera in Simferopol, Crimea's capital, captured the image of a Bulgarian freelance journalist and his assistant being attacked.

CNN's Michael Holmes said the two were spotted as they filmed masked men "removing TV equipment from another television outfit and basically stealing it." When those men saw that they were being filmed, Holmes learned, they pounced -- wrestling the journalist to the ground, snatching the equipment and at one point even holding a gun to the journalist's head.

In signs that the pro-Russian Crimean authorities are clamping down on dissent within the peninsula, at least two Ukrainian channels, 1+1 and Channel 5, have been blocked from ground-based broadcasting. The head of 1+1 told CNN that Russian state TV outlet Channel One is now broadcasting on its frequency.

And now, CNN, too, is feeling some heat.

"Tensions are high, even where we are at this hotel," CNN's Ann Coren told Wolf Blitzer during a Thursday broadcast from the confines of a hotel room. "Management came and approached us and told us that we are no longer allowed to broadcast from this hotel."

The assumption, she said, is that the hotel is kowtowing to outside forces, either the Crimean government, which is known to be pro-Russian, or local militia. CNN has not shied away from reporting about Russian forces being on the ground in Crimea, which Russian President Vladimir Putin denies, and that may have ruffled feathers.

"We've been operating here for over a week -- happily, no problems whatsoever. But obviously somebody is putting pressure on the manager of this hotel and basically threatening to shut us down and kick us out," Coren said. "Hopefully, hopefully, tomorrow we'll still be here."

CNN's Matthew Chance, Diana Magnay, Ben Wedeman and Tim Schwarz also contributed to this report.

Will police use common sense?

• California court sided with a driver who looked at a map on phone while in his car


• Ruben Navarrette: The dangers of texting and driving are well-known


• He says cops should use common sense, not ban all use of phones in cars


• Navarrette: Smartphones provide a variety of tools that could be helpful

Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette

San Diego (CNN) -- The most important tool that law enforcement officers have at their disposal is common sense. This is especially true with that segment of the force that spends the most time interacting with the public: traffic cops and highway patrol officers who enforce the vehicle code.

I'm glad the San Diego police officer who pulled me over a couple of years ago had common sense. He had spotted me holding onto my smartphone and suspected that I was violating California's "hands free" law. The law, which took effect in 2008, prohibits drivers from talking on a cell phone while driving.

By the time the officer approached the driver's side window, he had his ticket book out. After we exchanged pleasantries, he told me that he had pulled me over for talking on the phone while driving.

That's true, I said. I was talking on the phone. Then, I turned my head, so he could see the Bluetooth headset lodged in my right ear. I was using a hands-free device, just as the law requires. But, I explained, I had to lay my hands on the phone, if only for a second, to push the button that makes a call.

"That makes sense," the officer said with a smile as he closed his ticket book. "Have a nice day."

There is no argument that distracted driving can be just as dangerous as drunken driving, and so states have the right to pass laws that ban the practice of talking on the phone while driving. Twelve states and the District of Columbia have such laws on the books. Forty-two states and the District of Colombia also ban texting while driving.

Curbing distracted driving

Almost 50% of adults text while driving

However, these laws raise questions.

For instance, if the idea is to stop drivers from being distracted, then why stop at banning handheld cell phones? We can hold the steering wheel with one hand while using the other to drink a cup of coffee or eat a hamburger, but we can't use it to hold a phone? We can fiddle with the radio or -- in a minivan, the DVD player -- but we can't access Pandora or satellite radio on our phone?

Besides, as illustrated by a recent appeals court decision in Central California that could reverberate around the country, passing a law is the easy part. It is implementing it on the street that can get tricky for police -- especially in the age of the smartphone that doesn't just let you make a call but also provides a variety of functions that, far from being harmful to motorists, might prove helpful.

For instance, you can access a map with your phone. That's what Steven Spriggs of Fresno, California, was trying to do a few years ago when an officer with the California Highway Patrol pulled him over. Spriggs says that he was stuck in heavy traffic because of road construction, and that he was using the map function on his phone to look for an alternate route.

Spriggs tried to explain to the officer that he wasn't talking on the phone, and so -- given his understanding of the state's hands-free law -- he had not committed any infraction. The officer didn't buy it and proceeded to write him a $165 ticket. Spriggs thought that was unfair, and so he fought the ticket in court -- all the way, in fact, to the 5th District Court of Appeals, which recently ruled in his favor.

The appeals court threw out the ticket, declaring that the California State Legislature had only intended to prevent talking on the phone while driving. Nothing more.

"Spriggs contends he did not violate the statute because he was not talking on the telephone. We agree," the court wrote. "We conclude the statute means what it says -- it prohibits a driver only from holding a wireless telephone while conversing on it."

This may be that we have not heard the last of this case. The state could appeal, and the California Supreme Court could agree to hear the case. The legislature could decide to amend the law to broaden it out and perhaps close some of the loopholes.

For now though, this is a major victory -- not just for one California motorist but for common sense. The officer who stopped Spriggs that day on the roadway was short on it.

He could have saved us all time and trouble by not forcing the issue and making room for the possibility that there was nuance in how the law should be applied. Yet, the good news is that the appeals court had enough to keep law enforcement from overreaching.

The framers of the Constitution could never have imagined automobiles or cell phones. Yet, because of how they felt about the courts reining in the power of the state, you can bet that they would be pleased at how this story turned out.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette.

New York mayor fails students

Will Cain says New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has made 600 kids' futures his collateral damage.

• New York mayor decided not to let three charter schools operate in city buildings


• Will Cain has a kindergartener who attends Success Academy


• Parents and children are upset; Cain says kids are condemned to failure at a public school


• Cain: Fixing inequality, creating opportunity for minorities are empty slogans for mayor

Editor's note: Will Cain is an analyst for The Blaze and a CNN contributor.

(CNN) -- Bill de Blasio is 6-foot-6. Joshua Jenkins is 4-foot-2.

It's probably too much to expect the mayor of New York to get down on his knee and look Joshua in the eye before he destroys the 9-year-old's future. But de Blasio could at least learn his name. Or Briana Pizarro's. Or any of the 600 children whose future de Blasio just sacrificed.

Last week, the New York mayor reversed plans to allow three charter schools -- all run by the high-performing Success Academy chain -- to open in city buildings. De Blasio killed off two of the schools before they could open next year. But the closure of the third, Harlem Central Success Academy, has evicted hundreds of fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders and abandoned them to a predictable path.

Admittedly, I am a fan of school choice in general and Success Academy in particular. I have a kindergartner who attends Success Academy. And on Saturday, I went to the condemned Harlem Central to meet the evicted parents and children.

So I have seen something de Blasio refuses to see. I have been in a Success Academy school. There, face to face, you can't avoid the two clear paths -- one of these families' choosing and one de Blasio has chosen -- and seeing where they will lead these children's lives.

Briana Pizarro looks people in the eye. I noticed it first when she firmly shook my hand. She held my gaze while telling me about the Louisiana Purchase. But that's not the most impressive thing about this 10-year-old.

In 2013, Briana was one of the 96% of Success Academy Harlem Central fifth-graders to pass the state math test. In the state of New York, no class did better. Not the rich kids on the Upper East Side; not the rich white kids in Westchester. These kids ranked first.

"We're not talking about associates degrees here," said Brianna's mother, Wendy Martinez, about the path where Success Academy placed her daughter. "My kid is talking about being a judge. A doctor."

Martinez grew up in Harlem. She went to the district zone schools she was assigned to attend.

"It's not fair," Martinez said, comparing the process to the "Hunger Games." "If you're in District 5, you go to a bad school; if you're in District 2, you go to a good school."

When she married, both Martinez and her husband committed to providing their children the best education they could find. That was Success Academy.

Education "is the one thing no one can take away from you," she said. We sat silently for a moment. There was no need to point out that her statement was obviously untrue. "He's taken my child's future away."

Natasha Brown knows the path her son Joshua and his brother Jayden Jenkins will be forced to follow because of de Blasio's decision. It's the path her three oldest daughters went down. They all went to the assigned district school in Harlem.

"The nonsense. Uggghhh. The fights." Brown dropped her head to the table before relating of school fights involving her daughters a week ago, two months ago, years ago. "I'm not sending my sons to the school by my house. I've seen it.

"My youngest daughter has been held back three times. She's now too old for her class, so they're about to transfer her to an alternative school. She wants to drop out. My middle daughter did drop out. But my oldest, she eventually graduated," Brown said.

Joshua sometimes helps his teenage sisters with math. "Math is my favorite," said Joshua, who, like Briana, looks me directly in the eye. " They teach us different ways to do math ... besides the standard algorithm." Again, Joshua is 9.

Joshua and Briana were on a path at Harlem Central where 85% of all the students passed the state math test. A few blocks away is the path Brown described and de Blasio would force them to follow. At PS 76, 8% of the students passed the state math test. At PS 149, 3% passed. Three percent.

Why would anyone shut down these schools? There are two theories as to why de Blasio would evict hundreds of minority children in Harlem.

The first theory is political retribution. De Blasio hates the founder of Success Academy, Eva Moskowitz, who is also a Democrat, and he's made no secret of it. In fact, he called his shot.

"Another thing that has to change starting in January is that Eva Moskowitz cannot continue to have the run of the place," he said at a candidates' forum last year. "I have had a lot of contact with Eva over the years, and this is documented. She was giving the orders, and chancellors were bowing down." At a United Federation of Teachers forum in May, de Blasio said Moskowitz must not be "tolerated, enabled, supported."

If it's true that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made traffic the collateral damage of his vendetta, then he is an amateur compared with his neighbor across the Hudson River, who easily made the future of 600 children his collateral damage.

The second theory is de Blasio is a true believer. Maybe he truly believes in the teachers union over students. Maybe he truly believes in a perverted sense of fairness that demands if everyone can't have a good education, then no one should.

Why should you -- in Sacramento or Waco -- care about the story of these kids? Why should you care about Joshua Jenkins? Because generations -- four decades of children, in every state in this country -- have had a stagnant and subpar education. One assessment has ranked the U.S. education system 17th in the world.

This is a distorted mirror for anyone who calls himself a progressive to stare into. How does de Blasio, or anyone who says he or she stands for the progress of the underprivileged, justify looking at the percentage of minorities who fail to graduate from high school -- in 2013, 32% of Latinos and 38% of African-Americans -- and get rid of a way out for them?

De Blasio was elected on a campaign theme of a Tale of Two Cities. What he should see here is a tale of two paths. If inequality and opportunity for minorities were more than empty slogans to him, de Blasio would go to Success Academy on his knees, hoping to find something to duplicate, not destroy.

Maybe from that position, the imposing mayor can face his victims. I promise, mayor, they'll look you in the eye.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Will Cain.

Wahlberg gets 'thin as possible' for movie

Mark Wahlberg has said that he wants to get "as thin as possible" to portray a professor with a gambling problem in an upcoming remake of "The Gambler." He reportedly lost 61lbs.

Matthew McConaughey lost at least 40 pounds to portray a man with AIDS in the December 2013 release "Dallas Buyers Club."

Jared Leto said he shed nearly 40 pounds to play a transsexual woman living with AIDS in the 1980s for "Dallas Buyers Club."

Charlize Theron gained about 30 pounds and wore crooked prosthetic teeth for her transformation into serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003's "Monster" -- and won a best actress Oscar.

Meryl Streep won a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 2011's "The Iron Lady," and so did members of her makeup team. They told Entertainment Weekly they pulled it off by working around Streep's natural facial elements.

Jake Gyllenhaal lost roughly 20 pounds for his role in the crime drama "Nightcrawler."

Jason Segel has been working hard to shed weight for his role in the upcoming comedy "Sex Tape," which also stars Cameron Diaz. The 33-year-old actor said that adopting a healthier lifestyle was key.

Ashton Kutcher had the good fortune of looking like Steve Jobs' long-lost cousin, so transforming himself into the icon of innovation didn't take much for the "Jobs" biopic. But it's amazing what the haircut, glasses and beard can do.

For 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy," Chris Pratt gave up beer for six months ... and wound up looking like this.

David O. Russell's December release "American Hustle" is set in the '70s, and part of the fun of the film is seeing Bradley Cooper's impressive perm.

Elizabeth Banks' comedic timing is as sharp as ever in "The Hunger Games," but her makeup job is a far cry from how we're used to seeing her.

Daniel Day-Lewis looked presidential enough to appear on currency in 2012's "Lincoln." The actor portrayed the 16th president so well he won an Oscar.

In "Looper," Joseph Gordon-Levitt was made up to look more like his co-star, Bruce Willis.

50 Cent had fans worried that he was truly ill when images surfaced of his role as a man suffering from cancer in "All Things Fall Apart."

While we've seen him become extremely thin to play a character, Leto has also gone in the other direction. For "Chapter 27," he packed on 60 pounds to portray Mark David Chapman.

Even if you don't remember 2008's "Tropic Thunder," you likely recall that Robert Downey Jr. was in blackface for his role. The controversial makeup choice was reflective of the lengths that Downey's method actor character, Kirk Lazarus, would go to portray a Vietnam War sergeant who was initially written as African-American.

Nicole Kidman nabbed a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in 2002's "The Hours." But the makeup job that changed her appearance -- aided greatly by a prosthetic nose that stirred debate -- didn't receive a nod.

For his role as a man who aged in reverse in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Brad Pitt "had to endure the most complicated and time-consuming makeup effects," sometimes spending five hours at a time in the makeup chair, producer Frank Marshall told Variety in 2008.

Christian Bale's disturbingly gaunt frame in "The Machinist" is a legendary tale of going all out for a character. The actor famously dropped 63 pounds for the part by sticking to a diet of coffee, cigarettes and an apple a day.

Heath Ledger's Joker was thrillingly unhinged in 2008's "The Dark Knight," and the makeup job was part of the package. Both the actor and the makeup team were nominated for Oscars, but it was Ledger who was honored posthumously with the award.

When she landed the part of Lisbeth Salander in 2011's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," fresh-faced Rooney Mara got a severe haircut in an inky hue, bleached her brows and pierced her nose, lip, eyebrow and nipple.

Critics heaped praise on Marion Cotillard's award-winning portrayal of French icon Edith Piaf in 2007's "La Vie en Rose." The physical part of her transformation into Piaf took patience, with Cotillard's role demanding five hours in a makeup chair.

Eddie Murphy has a knack for portraying multiple characters in the same film, and in 1988's "Coming to America," he played Prince Akeem and comedic barbershop gentleman Saul (pictured, right) among others. Makeup artist Rick Baker earned an Oscar nod for his work.

Julianne Moore was tasked with convincingly portraying Sarah Palin in HBO's 2012 movie "Game Change" and implicit in doing so was looking the part. Moore pulled it off, picking up an Emmy in the process. Among those she thanked? Her hair and makeup team, of course.

The makeover for Eric Stoltz in 1985's "Mask" was astounding as Stoltz portrayed "Rocky" Dennis, a boy trying to live a normal life with the disorder lionitis. The transformation picked up an Oscar for best makeup.

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• Mark Wahlberg has gotten noticeably skinny for the movie "The Gambler"


• The actor said in January he wanted to lose around 50 pounds for the role


• He plays a literature professor with a gambling problem


• The movie is due out in 2015

(CNN) -- Talk about a "Transformer."

Mark Wahlberg, who shows off rippling muscles in 2014's "Transformers: Age of Extinction," is losing as much weight as he can for a remake of "The Gambler."

Photos from the set show that the 42-year-old has become noticeably skinny in order to portray a literature professor with a gambling problem.

The actor's leaner physique was first noticed in January, and he confirmed to "Extra" at the time that he was losing the weight for a role.

"I'm trying to get as thin as a possibly can," Wahlberg said. "I was at 195 when I was doing 'Transformers,' and right now I'm at 158. So maybe (I'll go to) 150, 149, (1)45."

Obviously, in order to drop that much weight while filming, Wahlberg's had to commit to a different diet -- one that he admittedly struggled with.

"Anytime I smell food, I get crazy," he told "Extra's" Maria Menounos. "My daughter was eating this blueberry scone, and I wanted to like -- I was going to jack her for it. I was literally going to rob my almost 4-year-old daughter for her little blueberry muffin."

Judging from the on-set photos, it looks like Wahlberg was able to stick to his guns. "The Gambler," which also stars John Goodman, Jessica Lange and Michael K. Williams, is due to arrive in 2015.