Pretty People

Are the celebs scared that their gorgeous celeb kids will not have enough other gorgeous celeb kids to date and go to therapy with that they pressure the other celebs to continually keep expanding the insane celeb baby tribe or what? Seriously though, the baby fun continues in Hollywood – Matt Damon, Gwen & Gavin, Jason Lee, and even Ricky Martin all welcomed new babies. The best part of celeb-baby-madness is of course celeb-baby-naming-madness! The most talked about new celeb baby name of late is favorite cute-rocker couple Gwen & Gavin's son Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale. Move over Kingston, your little brother just made your name look like the name Bob. However, I think that Jason Lee’s new yet-unnamed girl will likely give him a run for his money, considering that his son's name is Pilot Inspektor.

Speaking of "special" celeb baby names, there are some awesome ones out there. Instead of just listing my favorites, I started thinking - we all know these kids are going to end up in the entertainment world, so what is the first movie that comes to mind when you hear their name that they will most likely end up in a re-make of 20 yrs from now? Here's some of my guesses. I's a fun game to play…feel free to add to the list:

1. Famous Kid: Pilot Inspektor (ie. Best -"special" celeb baby name ever!)
Famous Parent: Jason Lee
Future Movie Re-Make: Inspector Gadget. (Obvious choice for a kid no doubt born with a trench-coat. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he names his new daughter Penny.)

2. Famous Kid: Kal-el.
Famous Parent: Nicolas Cage
Future Movie Re-Make: Superman Or Alien . (It’s a toss-up. Either of which would be a good fit, and now that I think about it, both would also be appropriate movies for little Suri Cruise to co-star in as well. Bonus.)

3. Famous Kid: Tu
Famous Parent: Rob Morrow (and yes that makes her name Tu Morrow)
Future Movie Re-Make: Annie (Um, how perfect would this be? Seriously, I hope she embraces this annoying song early on in life, and she might as well dye her hair red now. There will be no escaping this.)

4. Famous Kid(s): Hud and Spec Wildhorse (hard to choose between those "special" names, so have to include both.)
Famous Parents: John Mellencamp & Elaine Irwin
Future Movie Re-Make: Homeward Bound (likely the 4 billionth sequel by then) or The Lost Boys (quite opposites I know, but oddly those were the first two movies that came to mind).

5. Famous Kid: Banjo
Famous Parents: Rachel Griffiths & Andrew Taylor
Future Movie Re-Make: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Okay so I admit I never saw this movie, but it looks like the kind of movie with a banjo in it, right?)

6. Famous Kid: Moxie CrimeFighter
Famous Parent: (Comedian/ Magician) Penn Jillette
Future Movie Re-Make: The Incredibles or Striptease . (Come on, I know I am not the only one thinking that the name sounds like a toss-up between a super hero and a stripper.)

7. Famous Kid: Audio Science
Famous Parent: Shannyn Sossamon
Future Movie Re-Make: Mr. Holland's Opus (Either that, or some movie about a cool Science teacher….but shockingly I can't think of one. Poor kid).

8. Famous Kid: Homer
Famous Parent: Richard Gere
Future Movie Re-Make: The Simpsons. (I know you are thinking something along the lines of The Odyssey, but come on, you name a kid Homer, you are so not getting the literary genius you had in mind. Sorry, Dick).

And since baby Zuma started the list, let's end with him. Apparently his name originates from a beach in Malibu where Gavin had an epiphany where he realized that he wanted to be a rock star. Or so the story goes. After reading that, I am now thinking this kid really lucked out. I mean his dad could have had his epiphany in the parking lot of a 7-11 or in an office cube like the rest of us, and who knows what his name would have been then. But anyway, epiphany at the beach means only one thing… I decree that little Zuma will for sure star in the future re-make of Clueless of course! You know that scene where Alicia Silverstone's character has an epiphany by the fountain that she is really in love with her ex-step brother Paul Rudd? Yup, that has Zuma's name written all over it.

So to Jen & Ben, Charlie & Denise (oops, sorry, I meant wife #3 Brooke), Ashlee & Pete, Brad & Angelina (seriously only a matter of time for another one for them) and all those other preggars celebs out there - I am counting on you to continue with this madness cause this is far too entertaining for me…  -- Lisanne

Anyone else sort of startled at how beautiful Kristen Stewart has become? I mean, as late as Into the Wild and In the Land of Women I still found her more coltish than pretty. Then the Twilight trailer debuted, and now I'm slightly breathless (not in the same way I react when I see Heidi Klum, but more in a "wow, a vampire- could-totally-fall-in-love-with-her" type of way).

This was, of course, the same girl who I watched in Panic Room (she was Jodie Foster's daughter) and thought was a boy for half the film.

Other great "Before they were stars, they were kid stars" moments:

Shia LaBeouf. Then: Disney Channel star (Even Stevens). Now: Indy sidekick, Autobot defender, car-accident magnet.

Hayden Panettiere. Then: Tomboyish football sidekick on Remember the Titans. Now: Unbreakable cheerleader on Heroes, Candies' spokesmodel

Christina Ricci. Then: Wednesday Addams; Cher's daughter in Mermaids. Now: Recently seen either with a pig snout or chained to Samuel L. Jackson's radiator.

Josh Brolin. Then: Sean Astin's cooler older brother, Brand, in The Goonies. Now: Playing Dubya in W.



Joaquin Phoenix. Then: Brooding adolescent secretly "slapping the salami" in Parenthood. Now: Brooding

--Ellen

I've been enjoying the Olympics... commercials. Especially the Visa ones ("Go World") narrated by Morgan Freeman. As I was commenting on how well his voice fits to narrate over Michael Phelps' slo-mo swimming, much like Patrick Dempsey's for State Farm Insurance or Jeff Bridges for Duracell, my husband replied, simply, that "Morgan Freeman is the voice of God."

As in what? I asked. When he played God in Bruce Almighty? Many actors have played God (and non-actors like Alanis Morissette) before. But he just meant that if the heavens were to open up and a voice were to speak, to him it would sound like Freeman, as opposed to that of, say, James Earl Jones, whose boom always makes me think of either Mufasa's command from the sky in The Lion King (which he voiced) more than Darth Vader's.

Which got me thinking: If you were to cast anybody to be the voice of God (however you think it should sound), whose would you pick? I vote for Freeman and also like the idea of Patrick Stewart's voice thundering above, but that may be too traditional. But I think someone like Zach Braff's may be a wee too upbeat. (Perhaps St. Peter in a quirky mood.) -- Ellen

Cyd Charisse, one of the iconic figures in the history of movie musicals, passed away Tuesday at the age of 86.  Like many people, I first encountered her as the long-legged, cigarette-smoking gangsters' moll who tempts Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain (below).  But I also remember her dancing in the dark with Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon and strolling through the heather on the hill with Kelly in Brigadoon. Though she often played exotic characters, she was born in Texas, and though classically trained, she made her fame dancing all kinds of styles in the glory days of the musical, when MGM was known as "the Dream Factory." She also played dramatic roles, sang and danced with husband Tony Martin, and appeared on Broadway in Grand Hotel. --David

There are some things I just do without thinking: hitting the snooze bar, creeping my car toward a light that's about to turn green and reading the celeb mags when I'm in line at the store. Sometimes I compare the stories, with their competing takes on the latest in the lives of Brad and Angie and Britney and Jessica and Jennifer and all these famous people we're on a fake first-name basis with. Sometimes I just look at the pictures ("Stars! Pumping gas! Drinking coffee! They're just like us!"). Always, I feel like I just ate a plateful of junk food. But I haven't quit yet. Magazines remain, however, my preferred format for these things, even after downloading two new E! shows from Amazon Unbox -- Living Lohan (sans Lindsay) and Denise Richards: It's Complicated (tell us something we don't know, former Mrs. Charlie Sheen!). I've attached a preview, and you can find full episodes here and here). What do you think? Guilty pleasure or ... ? -- Stephanie Reid-Simons, Unbox TV Freak

The Other Boleyn Girl, which released this week on DVD, features Natalie Portman (as Anne Boleyn) scheming, dazzling, and huffing, while Scarlett Johansson (as her younger sister, Mary) is timid, unassuming, and perpetually crestfallen that her own flesh and blood would become her rival for the affections of the king. While Johansson remains pale and peasantly, Portman is dressed in bold colors and rich fabrics, none more prominent than the emerald-green gown she wears when she seduces Henry VIII (Eric Bana) with the ultimatum that she won't sleep with him until she becomes his queen. It matches Anne's personality: she's sexy, confident, and at times, very reptilian. This made me think of other prominent green gowns in cinema:

Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. The color was ever-present not just because it matched her eyes, but because it was a mark of wealth and prosperity (there was ne'er a shade present when she was scrubbing on her hands and knees); indeed it's no coincidence that it's the color of the famous dress constructed out of velvet curtains to convince Rhett Butler she's doing just fine, thank you.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Estella in Great Expectations

Green was the color of choice for director Alfonso Cuaron, who asked even the crew and extras to wear the color during production. The characters all wore green but none more so than Paltrow, whose heartbreaker-la-femme wardrobe for the film was designed by "Queen of Black" Donna Karan.

In more recent times, green also makes the definitive statement for:

Keira Knightley as Cecilia in Atonement: Most recently voted the favorite movie gown of all time, this floor-length dress was the most buzzed-about thing in the film (aside from the Dunkirk tracking shot) and was worn during the big library love scene.

Anne Hathaway as Andy in The Devil Wears Prada: Once she jumps from the turquoise/cerulean sweaters and loafers to high fashion, Andy is seen in striking, fashion-forward ensembles in white, black, and--you guessed it--green.

Other honorable mentions:

(Yes, we know Jennifer Lopez's dress is not from a film. But when you put "fashion," "green," "confident" and "sexy" together, the mind cannot help making the jump). -- Ellen

We have a real treat today.  Author David McCullough greets Amazon customers and introduces the HBO miniseries John Adams, which was based on his book.  Then he'll take you on a tour of Peacefield, the family home of John Adams. Hope you enjoy it.  --David