Every Thursday, Hollywood.com lists the 10 coolest celebs, movies and goings-on in the world of entertainment.
1. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, for taking a chance on something that could either fail miserably–or be the next big thing: Internet TV. On Monday, Gore launched Current TV, a new 24-hour news magazine network based on material previewed on its Web site Current. The network’s goal, according to Gore, is “to be the television home page for the Internet generation.” Current TV’s mostly audience-generated programming, presented in two-to-seven minute-long pods, covers stuff like jobs, technology, music, and current events (think The N meets MTV). Every half-hour, Current TV also provides viewers with a news update using data from Google on the Web’s most frequently searched news stories. We couch potatoes like the concept of bringing the Internet to TV screens rather than actually having to migrate to our desks. Will it be a hit? That depends on whether viewers will take to this new format.
2. The R-rated comedy Wedding Crashers, for using raunchy humor to get moviegoers into theaters-including Eminem and his entourage. The rapper was reportedly so eager to watch the film with his D12 bandmates in peace he rented out an entire theatre inside the Palms Resort and Casino’s Brenden Movie Theatre in Las Vegas.
3. The Fox network, for forcing stars to fulfill their contractual obligations for the sake of ratings. Peter Liguori, president of Fox Entertainment, said that while he doubts feuding friends Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie have kissed and made up, the network has forced the former pals to complete their contractual obligations and film a fourth season of The Simple Life. We hope this means the show’s “drama” this season will be real rather than manufactured.
4. Vanity Fair magazine, for striking when the iron’s hot. Magazine bosses got so fired up by their explosive new interview with Jennifer Aniston last week, they decided to scrap the planned September cover story and replace it with the former Friends star’s tell-all. In the interview, Aniston talks about how she was hoping to start a family with her ex-husband Brad Pitt before they split after Christmas and how she felt “angry, hurt and embarrassed” when she first saw photos of her estranged husband and Angelina Jolie holidaying together. It must feel good to let it all out. Aniston was originally scheduled to make the October cover of Vanity Fair.
5. Star Nicole Kidman, for announcing she wants to take a lengthy break from Hollywood to spend time with her children. Kidman has wrapped eight films in the last two years and has a further four in the pipeline to be released over the course of another year. It’s not that we think her values are admirable; we’re just happy we won’t have to see her in a movie in 2007. She’s a great actress who’s wafted into overexposed territory.
6. Honesty, because it’s so rare in Hollywood. When reports began to surface a few weeks ago that Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee were about to tie the knot again for the third time, the former Baywatch star admitted it was all a stunt to drum up publicity for the rockers upcoming reality show, Tommy Goes to College. “(I’m) just trying to get him a little press for his new show,” Anderson said. “He’s family.”
7. Desperate Housewife star Jesse Metcalf, for being so incredibly naïve–but in a sweet way. The Desperate Housewife hunk has vowed his next role will require him to keep his clothes on, because he’s scared of being typecast as beefcake. He says, “I’m leery of being typecast as eye candy. My next role will be a little deeper and won’t require me to take my shirt off in every scene.” Um, it’s probably too little too late, but he’s cute for thinking that.
8. Big stars who head to Broadway, for proving that it really is about the art and not the money? OK, it’s a stretch but it’s still cool. Oscar winner Julia Roberts just announced she plans on starring in the three-person show Three Days of Rain starting next spring. Rosie O’Donnell is also heading to Broadway to star in Fiddler on the Roof
9. Discerning New York City shoppers, for not buying dolls modeled after property tycoon Donald Trump. Originally priced at $25, Macy’s currently has piles of the dolls, which utter 17 different Trump soundbites including his catchphrase, “You’re fired,” at the bargain price of $2.49. A spokesman for the store tells Web site PageSix.com, “We have Donald Trump suits and watches and shirts and they are all doing phenomenal business. Men want to dress like Donald Trump.”
10. Steven Spielberg‘s upcoming film Munich, for finally getting a title. The drama, which is currently filming in the US, Hungary, Poland and Malta, deals with the murder of 11 Israeli competitors at the 1972 Olympic Games and follows a crack force of secret service agents ordered to assassinate the Palestinian terrorists suspected of carrying out the horrific killings. For the longest time, the movie, which hits theaters December 23, had been referred to as the “Untitled Steven Spielberg Project.”
