Actors, musicians, and entertainers are routinely rewarded for their ability to captivate the masses, but when it comes to the most fascinating people of the year, Barbara Walters is the definitive judge.
Walter’s 2010 list included the people who wowed the world this year, from princess-to-be Kate Middleton to octogenarian actress Betty White, making sure to leave a little room for the big muscles and even bigger hair of the ‘Jersey Shore’ cast.
However, the most fascinating individual of 2010 isn’t a TV star or other celebrity, he’s none other than General David Petraeus, lead commander of our America’s war overseas. As reported by PEOPLE, Walters commended Petraeus’ benevolence toward the citizens of Afghanistan.
“In life, it seems, there are people who break things and people who fix them,” Walters said of Petraeus. “This man is a fixer.”
2. Sandra Bullock
Bullock had a remarkable and tumultuous year, beginning with her Oscar win for her performance in ‘The Blind Side.’ The actress became tabloid fodder when news of her husband’s infidelity broke, but Bullock ended the year on a strong note, becoming a mother to son Louis in April.
3. Justin Bieber
The Canadian heartthrob’s charisma is strong enough to make even Barbara a belieber! Bieber has had a wild ride to success, beginning with YouTube stardom with no end in sight.
4. Sarah Palin
Palin has been a media darling since her unsuccessful run for vice president alongside John McCain, but 2010 has truly been the year of the whole Palin clan. Palin’s eldest daughter, Bristol, had a successful run on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ while Mama Grizzly nabbed her own show, ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska,’ on TLC.
5. LeBron James
The basketball champ made waves in the sporting world when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, leaving one-time fans sipping hatorade.
Check out the full list of 2010′s most fascinating people after the jump!
6. Jennifer Lopez
The actress, singer, and mother, has added yet another title to her already impressive resume this year since signing on as the latest judge on ‘American Idol.’
7. The ‘Jersey Shore’ Cast
Pickles, punching, and of course, GTL , launched seven unknown twenty-somethings into the public discourse, with each cast member’s star continuing to rise following the launch of the second season in 2010.
8. Betty White
Don’t call it a comeback! After legions of fans petitioned on Facebook to have Betty White host ‘Saturday Night Live’ earlier this year, the 88-year-old actress has found success in film, on television, guest-starring on NBC hits ’30 Rock’ and ‘Community,’ and even winning an Emmy for her hosting duties on ‘SNL.’
9. Kate Middleton
The British beauty, nicknamed “waity Katie” by the press for her lengthy relationship with Prince William, finally became engaged to her beloved in 2010, landing her in line to one day become queen.
10. Mark Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg may have started out as a Harvard dropout with a dream, but the Facebook co-founder has since revolutionized the way hundreds of millions of individuals communicate worldwide, raking in billions of dollars in the process.
Over the past few years there have been some big pop culture flops so to celebrate the turkey season, Wonder Wall have come up with a list of the biggest turkeys in recent memory.
15. Christina Aguilera, “Bionic”
After 2006′s Grammy-winning “Back to Basics,” expectations were high for Christina’s sixth studio album. And it’s not like “Bionic” was bad, per se. But between her postponing her tour for unknown reasons and allegations from Lady Gaga fans that Christina was copying Gaga’s style, the album was doomed. Worldwide, it only sold 600,000 copies; compare that with the 4.5 million copies “Back to Basics” has sold.
14. Lindsay Price
We’re sure she’s a really nice lady, but Lindsay Price is TV Teflon. Sure, the pilots she’s on get picked up, but how long do the series last? Take her latest show, “Eastwick,” for example: Not only was it never picked up for a full season, but all 13 episodes of the 2009 NBC show never even made it to air. Want more proof of Lindsay’s TV turkeydom? “Lipstick Jungle,” “Pepper Dennis,” “Coupling.”
13. Madonna as an actress
From “Shanghai Surprise” to “The Next Best Thing” to “Swept Away,” there’s no lack of examples of Madonna’s suckiness as an actress. Yes, she’s one of the great performers of all time, but give her lines and blocking instead of lyrics and choreography and she’s a total train wreck. Thankfully, she got the point after “Swept Away” (could it have been winning yet another Worst Actress Razzie that really drove the message home?). Now we get to look forward to her direction on “W.E.” (yay?).
12. “Cutthroat Island”
A box office bomb’s costs exceeds its revenue. By that definition, “Cutthroat Island” wasn’t just a bomb; it was a nuclear warhead. Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest box office loss of all time, the 1995 Geena Davis and Matthew Modine pirate thriller cost $100 million to make and promote, but made just $11 million total at the box office. Not only that, but it pushed Carloco Pictures into bankruptcy.
11. JC Chasez’s solo career
It’s hard to live in Justin Timberlake’s shadow. But after seeing his solo career explode, JC thought he could do the same. (He was the second-most-popular member of *NSYNC, after all.) But it just didn’t work out that way. First of all, calling your album “Schizophrenic” and wearing a straight jacket on the cover is bound to bring some anger from mental health groups. Also, let’s not forget JC is just not JT.
10. “Coupling”
“Coupling” was about a group of six good-looking thirtysomethings who are either dating, have dated or want to date one another. The UK version was a smash hit, so in 2003 they tried to adapt it for a U.S. audience. It failed miserably (only four episodes aired), but we won’t blame this one all on Lindsay Price, who (surprise!) played Jane Honda.
9. Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines
In 1999 Garth Brooks had begun to develop a movie with Paramount called “The Lamb,” in which he’d star as Chris Gaines, an emotionally conflicted rock star. To create buzz for the project, “Chris” recorded “Garth Brooks in … The Life of Chris Gaines,” filmed a “Behind the Music” for Chris and performed on “SNL” when Garth hosted. It all left the public confused, and as a result the album was a bust and the movie went on an indefinite hiatus. No wonder Rolling Stone called the whole project “the most monumentally disastrous marketing idea that mainstream pop had seen in years.”
8. “Glitter”
If you’ve seen “Precious,” you know Mariah Carey can act. But back in 2001 when “Glitter” came out, critics were singing a different tune. Reviews for the movie couldn’t have been worse, and “Glitter” bombed at the box office. (It grossed just over $5 million worldwide, less than a quarter of its $22 million budget.) Even the film’s soundtrack was a dismal failure: It was Mariah’s worst showing on the Billboard charts, and Mariah was dropped from her label as a result.
7. The Spice Girls, “Forever”
By 2000 Geri had peaced out of the Spice Girls, but Victoria, Mel B, Emma and Mel C had enough girl power left in them — or so they thought. Unfortunately, their edgier R&B sound on “Forever” didn’t resonate with audiences, and in early 2001, they officially announced that they were breaking up. (Forever? Try for never — or until 2007, when they did their reunion tour.)
6. Lindsay Lohan at Ungaro
Say what you want about Lindsay Lohan’s personal life, but the girl has style. So in September 2009, when it was announced that Emanuel Ungaro hired her as its artistic adviser, it actually seemed like a good pairing. But when the collection, designed by Estrella Archs, was presented that October in Paris, it was met with about as much praise as “I Know Who Killed Me.” Women’s Wear Daily called the collection “an embarrassment.” What? They don’t like heart-shaped sequined pasties? By March, Lindsay and Ungaro had parted ways.
5. Prince changing his name to the Love Symbol
Prince was actually born Prince Rogers Nelson, so he actually lucked out in the celebrity name game. So why he would want to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol is absolutely insane. But that’s what he did in 1993. Since you can’t pronounce the symbol, people would just call him “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.” On May 16, 2000, after his contract with Warner/Chappell expired, Prince stopped using the Love Symbol moniker, explaining that since he was now freed from undesirable relationships associated with the name Prince, he would use his name again. And all was right with the world.
4. Jessica Simpson’s country career
Jessica Simpson’s a Texas girl who was raised on country music, so making country music would be a logical step in her career, right? So very, very wrong. While “Do You Know” became Jess’s first #1 album of her career, it all went south from there. Less than a year after the record’s release, she and her country label, Sony Nashville, parted ways. Never a good sign.
3. “The Jay Leno Show”
Here are the dismal effects of the 10 p.m. “The Jay Leno Show” and NBC’s subsequent flip-flopping: five wasted hours of primetime TV weekly; destroyed ratings for local NBC newscasts; made Jay Leno look like a selfish jerk; made NBC look like bumbling fools; NBC lost Conan O’Brien. Sure, there’s more, but we think that’s enough to suffice for turkeydom.
2. “Gigli”
This Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck stinker doesn’t just make the list because it was so awful that it was yanked from theaters three weeks after release. It’s not just on here because it’s the only movie ever to win the Razzie gram slam: Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Screen Couple. Nope, “Gigli” is mostly on here because it also contributed to the beginning of the end of Jen and Ben’s relationship. RIP Bennifer 1.0.
1. Britney Spears’s 2007 VMA “comeback”
Where were you when the bomb hit? The bomb that was Britney’s 2007 MTV Video Music Awards performance. It was supposed to be her finest hour, her big comeback. Instead, it was an absolute bust. Who could forget that dazed look in her eyes as she basically just stood there, unable to even lip-sync right while her backup dancers moved around her? But we’d say she made up for it since then, don’t cha think?
They definitely got it right in my opinion.
source: Top 15 Biggest Pop Culture Turkeys [Wonder Wall]
There’s nothing more enjoyable than watching a movie or TV show and seeing an actor you hate getting killed, of course it’s only fictional but still we can’t help but enjoy it. Right? Well Cracked have come up with a list of 7 television and move deaths we’ve all enjoyed a bit too much.
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07. David Caruso – King of New York
I’m still holding out hope that David Caruso is playing an elaborate hoax on the world. Somewhere between NYPD Blue and CSI Miami he was clearing out some old things and decided he didn’t need functional social etiquette anymore. He has lost all context for how regular people interact with one another, which is a crucial skill set for actors. Perhaps in a very literal attempt at avoid insulting co-stars, he refuses to talk down to anyone; instead he stoops as low as he possibly can and then looks up like a dog that just defecated in the study again. It’s especially absurd to watch when he has to talk to children. Despite the hail of insults and fast food I’m assuming he’s pelted with daily, David Caruso maintains remarkably high self esteem. It’s nice to see him knocked down a peg once in awhile, or more literally, shot in the face.
06. Paris Hilton – House of Wax
When humanity turned against Paris Hilton it wasn’t prepared for her to live so long. There was an early and hard sprint of hatred with no consideration for how exhausting it would be in the later laps. In recent years she hasn’t done anything to redeem herself but it’s almost too tiring to offer her any more attention. Still, I’m doing it. Quiet hatred is still hatred. Each time she climbed out of a car vagina first, or answered her phone during sex, or wept like a child in the back of a cop car, everyone cried “rehab!” but only for the shame it would bring her, no one actually wanted to see Paris Hilton get better. On the inside, the world was whispering a prayer that that someone throw a stake through her face instead. House of Wax answered that prayer.
05. Steven Seagal-Executive Decision
Actor-performer is a generous term for Steven Seagal, it feels more applicable to call him a pretend-Native-American-who-does-martial-arts-while-cameras-roll. He has acted in over 35 films and stubbornly refuses to get any better at it. Yet, even with his illustrious career making movies and his labored musical persuits, Steven Seagal still finds time for love. He made headlines this year when his assistant accused him keeping and abusing sex slaves. The assaults described, while horrific, were considerably more lumbering and awkward than anyone anticipated from an accomplished martial artist. Then again, there are few elegant ways to choke a sex slave. So, on the scale of human decency, Steven Seagal sits squarely behind the chimpanzee that ripped that woman’s face off a while back. What his death in Executive Decision lacks blood or dying gasps, it makes up for in hilarious prematurity. He dies in the first half of the movie after getting sucked out of a jet midair. He doesn’t get to roundhouse anyone or dole out any Native American wisdom; leaving him only with acting to justify his presence onscreen, something he presumably hates because he only does it while wincing. His death is particularly gratifying to watch given the back story of the film’s production. Steven Seagal didn’t want his character to die, concerned his fan(s) wouldn’t like it. Eventually he was forced to do the scene as it was written with the studio threatening a breach of contract lawsuit. Knowing that his death was also a stab at his ego is its own special reward.
04. Tara Reid-Urban Legend
There’s a scene in The Shining when Jack Nicholson kisses a beautiful naked woman in a bathroom before her body decays instantly and she becomes a bloated, festering corpse in his arms. I imagine that’s how a lot of teenage boys felt about Tara Reid while using her as masturbation fodder in the late 90s. Not even meth can destroy a human body as quickly as Tara Reid has destroyed hers. Like a walking D.A.R.E. scare tactic, she is the end result of a life of over-stimulation, except she achieved it in only a few years. Her tireless dedication to impulse earned her the reality show Taradise for a year before audiences lost interest in watching a pie-wagon shaped drunk chicken fight in a pool over and over.
03. Jennifer Lopez-Jersey Girl
When Jennifer Lopez dies in the first fifteen minutes of Jersey Girl I think audiences are supposed to feel something like sadness. But after years of hearing the tantrums and demands and general entitlement, it’s hard not to relax in the few seconds of silence after her passing. Even better, her death isn’t dealt by a killer but a tiny child.
02. Tom Cruise-Valkyrie
Audiences never anticipated that they would see an American made movie set in the 1940s with a German hero. They also never anticipated that they would cheer when that hero was shot in front of a firing squad of Nazis at the end of the film. Valkyrie created a tremendous moral conflict for German moviegoers in particular because they were forced to choose which they hated more: Nazis, or Tom Cruise. For a country that loves putting up with the nonsense from American stars, they draw a fat line in the sand when it comes to Scientology. Germany as a whole was unwilling to let Valkyrie shoot at the Bender Block where the actual Colonel Stauffenberg was killed, specifically because of Tom Cruise’s involvement in the film and the thetan infecting his brain.
01. Dane Cook-Mr. Brooks
Early on in his career, Dane Cook did a bit about the moments when the middle finger isn’t enough of an insult, and how the middle combined with the ring finger could be a lot more effectual when the situation demanded it: The Super Finger. In other words, he took an idea created by someone else, already infused with a deep implications and significance, then altered it slightly into something more confusing before claiming it as his own. This seems like a nice analogy for Dane Cook’s entire career. All of his stadium appearances, merchandise sales and TV appearances are born on the backs of other comedians who were around long before he stumbled into popularity and gutted the soul from their jokes. There are a lot of reasons to hate Dane Cook, so it’s particularly enjoyable to see him murdered on screen. I would equate it to the joy you might feel thinking about an arena packed with people all giving Dane Cook the Super Finger and him mistaking it for praise.
Yup, I’ve enjoyed them all.
source: 7 Celebrity Movie Deaths We Enjoyed Way Too Much [Cracked]
American Idol has lost another judge, this time it’s Kara DioGuardi who is leaving the show after being on the judging panel for two seasons.
Kara is now the third judge to leave the show this year, Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres also both quit Idol. She released a statement saying…
“I felt like I won the lottery when I joined ‘American Idol’ two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave ‘Idol, I am very proud to have been associated with ‘American Idol’ – it has truly been an amazing experience … I look forward to my next challenge, and want to thank everyone who has supported me. All the best to everyone on Season 10!”
It’s rumored that Jennifer Lopez will join Randy Jackson behind the judges table and producers will go back to having just three judges. I wish they would just cancel this show, it hasn’t been good for the past 5 seasons.
source: Official: Kara DioGuardi leaving ‘American Idol’ [Hollywood Reporter]
