Every week, Hollywood.com lists the 10 coolest celebs, movies and goings-on in the world of entertainment.
1. The multitude of celebrities who have donated time and money to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The list includes Celine Dion, Sean Combs, Jay-Z, Harry Connick Jr., Destiny’s Child, Pamela Anderson, Steve Carell, Chris Rock, Master P., Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Sean Penn, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey and many more.
2. Hip-hop singer Kanye West and his attack on President Bush and the American media, for blatantly stating what most people were already thinking during a televised fundraising concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina Friday. West blamed the U.S. government for its slow reaction in the aftermath of the natural disaster centered in New Orleans, Louisiana, because the majority of the city’s population is black. He also ripped into the press for its reporting of the disaster. “If you see a black family it’s looting, but if it’s a white family they are looking for food,” West said. “We realize that a lot of people who could help are at war fighting another way (but) now they have given (the army) permission to go down and shoot us.” While NBC cut most of West’s comments from repeat broadcasts, the network did broadcast the rising anger among blacks in New Orleans.
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street psychopathic killer Freddy Krueger, who has been voted the most terrifying horror villain of all time by Top Dog magazine. The razor-gloved eradicator, played by actor Robert Englund in Wes Craven‘s 1984 thriller and its sequels, beat out Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhees, who came in second place, ahead of Halloween killer Michael Myers, who was voted third.
4. Actress Jennifer Tilly, for winning the World Poker Tour (WPT) Ladies Night III on Thursday–her second major poker tournament–and becoming the first woman to win both that title and the World Series’ Ladies World Poker Championship held in June. Tilly said she has been playing the game for just a year, but learned pointers from her boyfriend, poker player Phil ‘Unabomber’ Laak.
5. Emmy-nominated Entourage star Jeremy Piven, for having the most heartbreaking love lost story of all-time. “In high school I was infatuated with Tatiana Kolovis, this Greek goddess. Everyone loved her,” Piven said. “I was at the National Theatre in London at the time, and I took a 14-hour boat trip from Athens to the island of Servos to visit her. When I got there, she introduced me to her large, Greek boyfriend, and they zoomed away on a Vespa. I spent the weekend with her mother.” And we don’t even care if it’s true or not.
6. Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, for trying to spread his little acting wings. Radcliffe, 16, is battling it out with 19-year-old Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell to play James Bond in a new movie about the suave super spy’s teenage years. The storyline centers on Bond’s time in Britain’s prestigious public school Eton, but movie producers are planning to raise the age of the teenage 007 to secure either 16-year-old Radcliffe or Bell, 19, in the lead.
7. Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, for refusing to let the hit TV program become another Friends or Will & Grace by allowing guest appearances from celebrities.
8. Money and the crazy things it makes even rich stars do. Wealthy Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko paid pop star Christina Aguilera a cool $2 million to perform at his wedding ceremony to model Alexandra Koktovic in Antibes, in the south of France over the weekend. Also performing at the nuptials were Whitney Houston and Enrique Iglesias-who duetted with his famous father Julio.
9. Proof star Gwyneth Paltrow, for having a sense of humor. Paltrow joined pal Ellen DeGeneres for a skit on the comedienne’s chat show, which will air next week, during which she went door-to-door with video copies of her movie. Now that’s cheap promotion.
10. Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch, for telling Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to stop sulking and start drinking. Martin, Paltrow‘s hubby, is reportedly devastated by U.S. critics who have labeled Coldplay “the most insufferable band of the decade.” McCulloch urges his sensitive friend to join him on a drinking spree to toughen him up, saying: “It might do Chris good if he did sort himself out with a few drinks to take the edge off. It would do him good to relax.”
