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Babs’ Most Fascinating People of 2008

By Hilary Dickinson | December 6, 2008

Barbara Walters presented her 16th annual edition of “The Ten Most Fascinating People” Thursday night with a list of some obvious choices and a sprinkling of “huhs?”.

The most obvious choice for No. 1 was President-elect Barack Obama. As Walters said herself, “Who are we going to pick other than President-elect Obama, I mean really?”

Viewers heard more about how Obama is a symbol of hope for America and asked him if the expectations for him to cure the economy and save the planet are too high to which he replied, “I can meet expectations of a government that is competent and honest and every single day is trying to make lives of ordinary Americans better.”

One new thing we learned, however, is that Obama never expected to be President – he wanted to be an architect, basketball player or judge.

Someone who does think he could be President is No. 10 on the list, Will Smith. He could potentially play a President because he said Obama would want Smith to play him in a movie; but, Smith also said if he really wanted to be President he could. “If I absolutely chose to, absolutely,” he said. “But I’m not ever going to choose to. I like being in movies.”

In fact, he’s starring in “Seven Pounds” opening in two weeks, which seemed to be the only reason why he was on Walter’s list.

Tom Cruise, who came in at No. 2, also seemed to be on the list because of his upcoming movie, “Valkryie.” Walters said this time interviewing him he appeared to be a “weathered and wiser Tom Cruise.” He is now keeping mum on his previously outspoken Scientology beliefs and, as Walters said, “He is no longer the boy wonder we fell in love with, the cocky young stud who finds his heart at the last minute or the hero who defeats evil with ease. Now he’s grown into something far more daring and interesting.”

While Smith and Cruise are uber-famous stars, Walters put a low-profile actor, Frank Langella, on her list at No. 4. And surprise, he’s also in a movie coming out: “Frost/Nixon.” Langella is not a star, but Walters said he has finally found stardom with his Tony Award for playing Richard Nixon in a play and now his role in the screen adaptation.

If Walters wanted to pick an actor who has finally made success, she should have picked the No. 1 comeback actor right now, Robert Downey, Jr.

But, at least Langella is honest. In regards to if he wants to win an Oscar he said, “It would be disingenuinous and absurd for an actor to say it doesn’t matter. Of course it does. Very few people win an Oscar. Wouldn’t it be great to be one of them?”

Someone who has won quite a lot of accolades is record-breaking Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals this year. Enough said there.

Enough also said with No. 8 on the list. Teen sensation Miley Cyrus has her own hit TV show, her new solo album not as Hannah Montana and a hit movie, “Bolt.” Not to mention that little scandal with the photos in “Vanity Fair.” She did admit that she sometimes worries, “Am I just it for now? But I live for the moment so I’m loving this and taking it all in.”

And it wouldn’t be a recap of 2008 without talking about Sarah Palin and her uncanny impersonator, Tina Fey. Walters put Palin at No. 3 because she showed that the celebrity lifecycle applies to politics as well. In under three months she went from, “hopeful unknown, to white hot star, to tarnished disappointment, to comeback tour.”

Fey, who came in at No. 7, didn’t think her impression was mean or sexist towards Palin: “There’s a strange double standard of a woman portraying another woman,” she said. “We stuck to things that at a lot of times she herself said.”

Another political commentator, Rush Limbaugh, made the list at No. 6. The conservative radio host appeared to make the list simply because he was a popular commentator on this year’s election who was one of the few to defend Palin. After some grilling on Walter’s part regarding his opinion on Palin, women aging in our culture and his contract of $38 million a year, Limbaugh described himself as “a harmless, lovable little fuzzball.”

Lastly, the pregnant man, Thomas Beatie, appeared on the list at No. 5. We’ve heard all about how Beatie became a man but used his female reproductive organs to give birth to a baby girl in June. What we did learn, however, is that the pregnant man is now pregnant once more. “You’re going to go through this again?” Walters asked.

All in all, a list of some obvious picks and also some “so whats?” Joy Behar, Walter’s co-host on “The View” also had some bones to pick with the show when she appeared during the end credits.

“What exactly do I have to do to get on this show? Miley Cyrus is 16 years old. I have brassieres older than her. Should I skin a moose? Become a man and then get pregnant? Maybe I’ll jump over a couch.”

Maybe next year, Joy.

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The End of an Era: Paul Newman Succumbs at 83

By Judith Brown | September 29, 2008

Apparently the rumors were true. After wondering ‘is he or isn’t he’ suffering from cancer, as a friend told reporters months ago, the legendary Paul Newman succumbed to the disease on Friday at his home in Westport, CT.

Paul Newman was bigger than anything I could possibly write here. Before I go on about his award-winning roles, his popcorn empire, his race car career, and more, I’d be remiss if I didn’t begin with his love for his beautiful and equally-talented wife, Joanne Woodward.

Their love transcended far above how we recognize lovers today, particularly in Hollywood where newfound love is as common as a pair of worn socks, and discarded just as quickly. In regards to Newman’s devotion to his wife he stated, “I have steak at home. Why go out for hamburger?” Something tells me he meant just that.

Not that I am privy to all details of the Newmans lifestyle (or any details of theirs for that matter), but in all the years of the paparazzi hounding the Hollywood elite, very little, if any, trash has ever surfaced about this couple. And in Hollywood, that’s saying a lot. The fact that they’ve been married since 1958 says something much, much more. Theirs is a love of integrity.

Paul Newman was also a man of deep conviction. Years ago I watched him in an interview with Barbara Walters, who asked about the death of his son. This man, who seemed always to be more than gracious and open, simply stated that the interview was contingent upon not discussing the death of his son. He tactfully told Walters that he would not continue if she persisted. Naturally, she relented. Even then I understood that Paul Newman was no show-boater. He stood for what he believed and the rest be darned.

I remember the first time I saw “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” My favorite part was Butch (Newman) laughing at Sundance (Redford) when Sundance hesitated to jump off the cliff into raging waters to escape a posse because ‘he couldn’t swim.’ Butch (as only Newman could play him) threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh before saying, “The fall will probably kill ya’!” Classic.

Newman’s Michael Gallagher, the role he played opposite Sally Field in “Absence of Malice” was one of my all-time favorites. As the unaffiliated son of a mob boss, Newman plays a quiet yet proud man who turns the tide on an overbearing federal agent bent on destroying him. Bad move.

In “The Verdict” he played Frank Galvin, an extremely down-and-out attorney who goes head-to-head with a large law firm, when he takes on a client in an effort to sue a large hospital. As usual, Newman gives a stunning performance throughout, but the best part of the movie is the absolute last 30 seconds of the film. In that defining moment you see a man who has redeemed himself, albeit through pain and anguish. And as only the best actors can, he does so without a word.

 

I was only a child when I saw “Cool Hand Luke” for the first time. Even then I knew there was something too cool about this blue-eyed soul brother and his penchant for right and dignity. I didn’t really get the whole meaning behind the film at that time, but Luke wasn’t completely lost on me. The last time I saw it, I was so affected I swore I’d never see it again. It was just too good to repeat.

Newman and Redford reunited to make “The Sting,” the first movie ever to make me wish I had learned how to be a con-artist. Seriously. While watching “The Towering Inferno” I wondered how bad could it be—you got Paul Newman there! What a way to go. Okay, totally kidding, but as soon as he was onscreen (alongside Steve McQueen) my anxieties disappeared. His role with Kevin Costner in “Message in a Bottle” showed a kinder, gentler but stern father who helps his son heal from years of grief.

There’s much more to say, but time and space alludes me. The cinematic world has lost an enduring, endearing, phenomenal legend. More than that, the world lost a man of redeeming quality. A rarity for certain but particularly in the land of glitz and glamour…in Hollywood…where film will never be the same.

In loving memory. JBB

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