Every Thursday, Hollywood.com lists the 10 coolest celebs, movies and goings-on in the world of entertainment.
1. Adoption and celebs Cameron Diaz, Lindsay Lohan, and Jessica Simpson, for turning the importance of parenthood into the season’s must-have accessory.
2. Rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, for making headlines by removing a consonant from his stage moniker. Combs, who changed his name from Puff Daddy and Puffy before adopting the name P. Diddy in 2001, told MTV News, “People around the world didn’t know what to call me. We was at (Madison Square Garden) rocking with Jay-Z. The last time I was there, half the crowd was chanting ‘P Diddy’, half the crowd chanting ‘Diddy.’ We gonna stop the confusion.” Combs plans a special “unveiling of Diddy” ceremony when he hosts the MTV Video Music Awards in Miami Aug. 28.
3. Director Ron Howard and the crew of the upcoming thriller The Da Vinci Code, for having clout. The bell at Lincoln Cathedral in England didn’t ring Monday for the first time since World War II, as filming of The Da Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks was underway.
4. Horror impresario and author extraordinaire Stephen King, for offering one lucky bidder the chance to have a character named after them in his next spine-chilling book, Cell. King is the latest in a bevy of writers, including John Grisham, selling the right to star in a novel on Internet auction site eBay. Proceeds from the sale, which takes place next month, will go to non-profit organization The First Amendment Project–a group that champions freedom of speech.
5. ESPN2’s new daily rag ESPN Hollywood, for trying capitalize on the collision of showbiz and the worlds of sports. Monday’s premiere show covered the 2005 Teen Choice Awards (with a focus on Anna Kournikova) and the New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, who dons this month’s cover of GQ. There was also an interview with Shaquille O’Neal in which he discussed movie offers. The 30-minute show, hosted by Mario Lopez and Thea Andrews, airs weekdays at 6 PM.
6. Hip-hop producers, the Neptunes, for creating a new mystery beat that got hot rapper Nas to pay $2 million for it. Nas beat out a number of artists for the beat, including Sean “Diddy’ Combs. It’s so groundbreaking, rap veteran Busta Rhymes is convinced it will make hip hop history. “If Nas is gonna rap to this beat,” Rhymes said, “It’s going to be over. This will be the biggest hit in the history of hip hop.” This we’ve gotta hear.
7. Reggae star Sean Paul, for having the balls to light a joint atop of one of Egypt’s
pyramids. The “Gimme Da Light” singer, who said he wanted to enhance the experience of being on top one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was shunned by other visitors who thought it was in poor taste to smoke marijuana on top of the ancient tomb. “Some people thought it was disrespectful,” Paul said. “I thought it was quite energizing.”
8. An anonymous fan, for helping basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman escape charges over an unpaid gas bill at the Tomahawk Auto Truck Plaza in Colorado. A clerk told police Rodman picked out a cowboy hat and filled up his Lamborghini during a charity rally race, then slapped a $20 bill on the counter and split–even though the bill was more than $40. Authorities were preparing paperwork on the case but an unidentified woman covered it instead.
9. Buxom star Pamela Anderson, for flaunting her funny bone. The former Baywatch babe hit back at pal Courtney Love for making jokes at her expense during her recent Comedy Central Roast. “I knew she could do comedy,” Anderson noted. “I just didn’t know she could stand up.”
10. Croatian Catholic Priest Anton Bobas, for defending Marilyn Manson against Christian groups who are trying to halt the rocker’s Aug. 22 concert in the northern Adriatic town of Pula because his lyrics and image promote Satanism, drug-use and violence. Bobas, who claims the best concert he ever attended was seeing Manson live in Germany three years ago, says, “How could Manson turn young people into Satanists and drug addicts in the two hours of his act.”
