What we're looking forward to in 2009
I’ve been covering people and entertainment for more than 20 years now, so I’ve learned that predicting what happens next week, let alone next year, is foolish. There is, however, much to look forward to in the new year. Here are a few notes from my list.
* Inaugural parties!
* A glamorous awards season, unmarred by writers' or actors' strikes. It’s opulent, decadent and an antidote to recession blues.
* Children in the White House. And dogs, too. I bet the new puppy will be a Labradoodle.
* The return — finally! — of Damages on FX. Glenn Close takes my breath away.
* Watching Oprah lose those 40 pounds. You know she can do it.
* Emerging new stars in the Obama cabinet. And I don’t mean Rahm Emmanuel or Hillary Clinton.
* The new dramedy Trust Me on TNT. Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh were born to be together.
* The spring return of Rescue Me. I’m mad about Denis Leary. And Michael J. Fox guest stars.
* Rachel Maddow getting more press than Keith Olbermann. (Remember, he once named me a worst person in the world.)
* Michelle Obama rockin’ the East Wing.
* Celeb weddings: Jen and John? Angie and Brad? Nicole Richie and Joel Madden? Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry?
* Celeb divorces: J.Lo and Marc? David Duchovny and Tea Leoni? Spencer and Heidi?
* More celeb babies: Tony and Eva? Beyonce and Jay-Z?
* West Side Story returns to Broadway.
I also asked my colleagues stuck at work during the holiday weeks to share what they’re looking forward to in 2009 and why, so click read more below for their thoughts. And if there's something you're psyched about in the new year, let us know in the comments section.
Our top albums of 2008
We hear a lot of music during any given year, and most of it work we don’t get to write about for the magazine (other than, say, the occasional Taylor Swift cover story). So before we leave 2008, I asked two of my colleagues, senior editor Craigh Barboza and associate editor Brian Truitt, to share with me their top five albums. Click read more below for their selections, listed in alphabetical order, and share with us your favorite CDs in the comments section.
Celebrity Birthdays: Anthony Hopkins, Val Kilmer
Anthony Hopkins rounds out the year with a 71st birthday celebration, and shows no signs of slowing down. The ever-spooky Oscar winner already has big plans for 2009: Be on the look out for his newest thrillers, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho (a biopic in which he plays the master of suspense) and The Wolfman. Val Kilmer, also reviving a classic as the voice of K.I.T.T. in the new NBC series, Knight Rider, is 49 today. And my, how time flies! New Kids on the Block’s youngest member, Joey McIntyre, is now 36.
Photo by Chuck Zlotnik
December 30, 2008
A sneak peek at the new TV season
Our Who's News colleague Gayle Carter is eagerly awaiting the New Year. Yes, like the rest of us she's excited about the inauguration of a new president. But truth be told, she is a TV junkie who is looking forward to the return of many of her favorite TV shows (some long delayed thanks to the writer's strike) and the debut of some sure-to-be-favorite new ones. In the magazine on Jan. 11, you will find her interviews with Amber Tamblyn and some of the other stars who shine in these new and returning series. Click on read more below to get a sneak peek at some of those stars and outtakes from Gayle's conversations with them, and let us know in the comments what shows you're psyched about returning or premiering in the next few months.
Photos by Eric Heilila and courtesy of Fox
Toni Collette's 'Tara' — not so funny
Unfortunately, I spent some of my holiday weekend on my sofa with a cold but I did get the chance to put Toni Collette's new Showtime comedy United States of Tara in my DVD player. Written by Diablo Cody, the wunderkind writer of last year's Oscar darling Juno, and exec-produced by Steven Spielberg, the comedy (which premieres Jan. 18) has the kind of pedigree that leads one to expect much. Yet, it disappoints. Collette is good in the title role, slipping and sliding into multiple or "alter" personalities as well as playing the woman who suffers from them. The problem is, there's little to find funny in it. John Corbett is Tara's incredibly understanding husband. He's like Aidan Shaw in Sex and the City: unbelievably understanding. And I kept waiting for Keir Gilchrist, who plays her nerdy helpful kid Marshall, or Brie Larson, co-starring as the punky, independent teen daughter Kate, to be as acerbic and witty as Ellen Page's Juno. Even four episodes in, it just isn't happening. If you want to get a sneak peek at Tara, check out the preview below.
Photo courtesy of Showtime
Celebrity Birthdays: Tiger Woods, Tracey Ullman
Tiger Woods, who had one of the year’s most spectacular sports victories at the U.S. Open, has one last reason to celebrate in 2008: his 33rd birthday. Today show host (and clean freak) Matt Lauer, our March cover boy, didn’t do too bad this year either and is the big 5-1. And comedian Tracey Ullman, 49 today, will continue her Emmy-nominated Showtime sketch comedy series, Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union, into 2009.
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA Today
December 29, 2008
Celebrity Birthdays: Danny McBride, Jude Law
We're all getting over our Christmas weekend and preparing for New Year's, but happy birthday wishes go out today to one of 2008's breakout movie stars, Danny McBride, who turns 32. McBride stole scenes in big-time comedies such as Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, and he has some impressive stuff coming out next year, co-starring with Will Ferrell in Land of the Lost and getting his own TV series with HBO's Eastbound & Down. Another guy blowing out candles and preparing for 2009: Jude Law, who's 36 today and is currently in production on Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes opposite Robert Downey Jr. Also, Milk co-star Diego Luna is 29, Patricia Clarkson (last seen in Vicky Christina Barcelona) is 49 and TV legend Mary Tyler Moore turns 62 today.
Photo courtesy of DreamWorks
December 26, 2008
Our Year in Photos issue
Make sure you pick up a copy of our annual Year in Photos issue this weekend (click here to find out what newspaper near you carries USA WEEKEND), especially if you're a big fan of the Jonas Brothers! Yes, those three tween heroes are featured on the cover with fresh new pics, and inside you'll find outtakes from some of our most popular and entertaining cover shoots of 2008, featuring Robert Downey Jr., Will Ferrell, Taylor Swift, Jack Black, Rascal Flatts, Annika Sorenstam (in football pads, no less) and Will Smith. Take a look and let us know in the comments section what your favorite pictures were from this year!
Celebrity Birthdays: Jared Leto, Chris Daughtry
As we all recover from Christmas dinner and eggnog overload, birthday wishes go out today to actor and part-time rock star Jared Leto, who celebrates turning 37
. The question is, who will he invite on his list of rumored exes (Ashley Olsen, Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz, Scarlett Johansson, Paris Hilton) to the party? Also, fellow rocker Chris Daughtry — who's currently working on his second album with his band Daughtry — is 29 and St. Louis Cardinals hall of famer Ozzie Smith is 54.
Photo by Garth Stead
December 25, 2008
Christmas birthdays: Jimmy Buffett, Sissy Spacek
Happy holidays and happy birthday to the world's Christmas babies! You can count a “Parrothead” among your ranks. Margaritaville’s own, Jimmy Buffett, turns 62 today (check out USA WEEKEND’s recent 2008 Margaritaville contest winners here). Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek, who makes a cameo in the current holiday flick Four Christmases, is 59. Also, look for a greatest hits album this March from music great Annie Lennox, who turns 54.
Photo by Jack Gruber/USA Today
