HOLLYWOOD - Paris Hilton named most fascinating person of the year
Paris Hilton's declaration that she doesn't sit around all day saying "That's hot" has apparently scored her points with Barbara Walters, who named the hotel heiress the most intriguing person of the year, The Associated Press reports. Walters, whose Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2004 airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC, chats with the socialite about her illustrious catch phrase as well as the infamous sex tape Hilton made with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon. "I was in love with him and people, I think, do that sometimes. I never thought that it would get out and that I'd be hurt like that," Hilton tells Walters. "It was (very painful). I thought it was the end. I thought, I was so embarrassed for all my teenage fans and my younger fans. I thought it was over." Hilton also reveals she reads books, the most recent one being Maneater, a novel about an uninhibited L.A. woman's search for a man. On Walters "most fascinating people" list, Hilton, who just wrapped the third season of her Fox reality series The Simple Life, beat out filmmaker Michael Moore, Jeopardy! whiz Ken Jennings and Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.
Chong returns with fresh crop of pot jokes
Comedian Tommy Chong, who spent nine months in jail for conspiring to sell bongs on the Internet, premieres The Marijuana-Logues at New York's Actors Playhouse on Tuesday with his former collaborator Cheech Marin, AP reports. Chong, 66, gained notoriety for the Cheech & Chong characters he created with partner Marin in films such as Up in Smoke and Still Smokin'. He told AP radio he still hasn't recovered from breaking up his act with Marin. "I never really got over it. There was always an emptiness in my heart," he said. "I had a 60th birthday and Cheech came to it. And it was the first time we'd seen each other in years, and he said, "I think of you every day.'"
Michael Moore embraces Hollywood
Fahrenheit 9/11 director Michael Moore denied Monday Hollywood had hurt John Kerry's presidential bid, citing California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former President Ronald Reagan as examples. "America loves Hollywood. America loves the people in the movies and on TV. And the thing that the Republicans have already figured out is that America likes to vote for Hollywood," Moore told reporters before addressing the Los Angeles World Affairs Council on the impact of filmmaking on politics. "And I think we need to turn to Hollywood, because who wouldn't vote for Tom Hanks or Paul Newman or Robert Redford or Oprah?" Moore added President Bush won because he "had a more compelling story to tell and the Democrats didn't," the AP reports.
Motley Crue reunites
Motley Crue, the heavy metal band that dominated the rock scene in1980s with hits including "Dr. Feelgood," "Kickstart My Heart" and "Girls Girls Girls," announced Monday they are reuniting for a world tour beginning next year. Reuters reports the first leg of the tour will begin Feb. 17 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "For as much as it's like 'Wow! This is like the ultimate rollercoaster ride in life' it was kinda nice to get off that for a little while. But I'm jonesin' for the thrill now," vocalist Nikki Sixx told Reuters.
Ferguson may take over Late Late Show
Comedian/actor Craig Ferguson, former co-star of The Drew Carey Show, is in talks to replace Craig Kilborn as the host of the CBS' The Late Late Show, sources told Reuters. When Kilborn exited in August after five years of hosting the show to focus on writing and producing different television projects, more than 20 guest hosts appeared on the show until early last month. The network whittled the field of candidates to four: Ferguson, Damien Fahey, D.L. Hughley and Michael Ian Black. CBS declined comment Monday, Reuters reports.
Charges against Givens dismissed
A Miami court dismissed the case against actress Robin Givens, who was ticketed for hitting an elderly lady and running over her leg, because the officers who were present did not witness the accident and could not testify to the cause of the accident, AP reports. Givens, best known for starring in the TV comedy Head of the Class, struck Maria Antonia Alcover as she was about to step onto the sidewalk after crossing a busy Miami street Jan. 28, police said, with the back wheel of Givens' Mercedes-Benz SUV running over Alcover's right leg. The actress was ticketed for failing to use due care with a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Alcover has filed a civil suit against Givens in the case, and trial is set to begin Jan. 3.
Kit Bowen contributed to this report.