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TWIT 1
THE
Year,?
REVIEW
Will Ferrell was really
into his hoops action in
February, talking with
USA WEEKEND about his new film,
Semi-Pro, a comedy depicting the
offbeat days of the American Basket
ball Association. Ferrell told us that
he plays regularly in a celebrity b-ball
league with Justin Timberlake, Sacha
Baron Cohen and Adam Sandler. But
in September, following that and
other Ferrell jock roles lampooning
NASCAR and figure skating, he swore off sports
as a movie genre, saying, “I’m retired from the
sports genre film. ... I think I filled my quota.”
Hmm. We’re suspicious especially since Fer
rell made a funny appearance at the ESPYs in
July that's now a You Tube hit, accepting the male
athlete award for Tiger Woods. (“Clearly, I am
the best golfer alive today,” he told the audience.)
... Taylor Swift was the cover gal in April as we
launched a big-time partnership with Country-
Music Television to present the USA WEEKEND
Breakthrough Video of the Year at the CMT Mu
sic Awards. Swift was the natural choice for our
magazine cover because she had won the break
through award the year before. When she spoke
to us, she mentioned that, in her spare time, she
enjoyed taking in a Nashville Predators hockey
game with pals, including Kellie Pickier. Just af
ter our cover story, Swift and Pickier had some
thing else in common, as Pickier won the break
through video award for 7 Wonder. Swift also told
us that she’s happy to accept the responsibility
of being a role model for young girls. Then, in
October, she announced
that she would join Reba
McEntire and Martina
Mcßride in the campaign
Every Woman Counts,
which is intended to in
spire women to vote and
get involved in the politi
cal process. “The first thing
I did this year on my 18th
birthday was register to
12
USA WEEKEND ■ Dec. 26-28.2008
Hoops, hockey and a fashionista to fear USA WEEKEND had it all
this year! Here’s an exclusive look back at our celeb-laden covers.
By Dennis McCafferty
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money. The actresses didn’t exactly deny it. (“I
wondered, ‘Hmm, what would that be like?’ ” Pal
trow- replied, with a laugh.) Well, they don’t need
to wonder anymore: Their respective comic-book
movies were summer smashes,
with The Incredible Hulk (star
ling Tyler) grossing more than
$134 million in domestic sales;
Iron Man (with Paltrow) earn
ing more than $3lB million; and
The Dark Knight (with Gyllen
haal), which was the biggest of
them all with more than $530 mil
lion in ticket sales.... Jack Black
spoke to us in August about his
own career as a musician, as the
School of Rock star stalled out
in an underground comedy/music act called Te
nacious D. He even did a parody of the song My
Sharona for his third-grade talent show, he re
called. But just a few days after he talked to us,
Black’s mind was focused on another genre: jazz.
As it turns out, his father-in-law is the legendary
jazz bassist Charlie Haden, and Black
even sang a song on a Haden CD this
year. Black told an interviewer that he
had put in exhaustive research before
meeting his future father-in-law for the
first time. “Are you kidding me?” he
said. “I wanted to marry his daughter. I
watched all 10 hours of that Ken Burns
jazz documentary.” ... We got up close
and personal with Rascal Flatts in
November, just as the fellas were up for
vote.” Swift told an inter
viewer. “I was still in my
pajamas, and I got on my
computer and registered.
It was so cool and empow
ering.” (Awww!) ... Liv
Tyler, Gwyneth Paltrow
and Maggie Gyllenhaal
were asked point-blank by
our interviewer in April
whether they were doing
superhero movies for the
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Vocal Group of the Year at the Country Music
Association Awards. Just days later, Flatts won
the aw-ard for the sixth straight year! That’s a
tie for the all-time record, which Flatts now shares
with the legendary Staffer Brothers.... Vanessa
Williams—the fashionista to fear on Ugly Betty
in her role as Wilhelmina Slater showed us
her bedroom closet for our March spring fashion
report, and we were surprised by how- relatively
unglamorous and unorganized it was. But any
one would have to forgive her, considering that
she splits time between homes in New York and
Los Angeles, where she worked on the Betty set
for 14 hours a day while still being a Brownie
mom. "I have four kids,” she told USA WEEKEND,
“and I go back to New York as needed. I don’t
have time to be anything like
Wilhelmina Slater.” Her time
will now be easier to manage be
cause Ugly Betty is being shot
in New York, which is where
Williams is from. But she wasn't
comforted when she received
that news, having just settled
in LA. “I think everyone as
sumed I'd be jumping for joy to
be back home in New 7 York,”
she said in an interview. “But
the first thing I thought about
was [my daughterl Sasha, who'd just had her
First Communion in our new church. I was numb,
and then anxiety kicked in ‘l have to get rid of
the house, ship all my cars back to New York and
move 10 rooms of fut niture.’ ”
You can find more updates on these and other
top celebrities
who are fea
tured each week
in the pages of
USA WEEKEND
at our Who’s
News blog at
usaweekend.com
and have a
GREAT 2009,
readers! □
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