Something’s in the air this past week. Not one but at least five celebrities – including several actresses – have been hospitalized, put in/ entered rehab, or a psych ward.

• Eva Mendes entered rehab in Utah.
• Sean Young entered rehab after heckling Julian Schabel during the SAG Awards, after she was over-served alcohol.
• Britney Spears the UCLA psych ward, went ballistic and was declared “GD” (Gravely Disabled).
• Amy Winehouse was hospitalized and put on a drip, possibly as an aid to getting off her crack addiction. (Winehouse’s husband, who is in jail, recently said that he gave her three months to live if she didn’t wise up. And her mother said that Amy could be dead within the year.) Hopefully she’ll be well for the Grammy Awards (Feb 10).
• Grey’s Anatomy star Justin Chambers was also at UCLA psych ward, was treated and checked out. (His rep claims exhaustion and a sleeping disorder, but I think he saw how much money his Grey’s Anatomy co-star Katherine Heigl gets for her crappy movies and lost it.)

Add to all this the rumors that Kirsten Dunst might be on the verge of a breakdown. Though it might have to do with her ex Jake Gyllenhaal reportedly ready to propose to Reese Witherspoon.

Don’t know if this is it, but January does tend to contribute to depression. But poking fun or not, I hope they all get well.

MeeVee has an interesting breakdown of some of the celebrities that are endorsing various U.S. presidential candidates in both parties. Hulk Hogan is endorsing Barack Obama, but Nature Boy Rick Flair is endorsing Mike Huckabee.

According to the breakdown, it seems that Obama has the vast majority of celebrity endorsements, mostly from actors/ actresses and a few others in the entertainment business. Someone commented to me last week that Hollywood really wants a Democrat back in power, though he didn’t say why he thought that. That their endorsements lie with Obama rather than, say, Hillary Clinton, says loads. She does, however, have the backing of a few celebrities – mostly non-actors – including Barbra Streisand, Martha Stewart and Magic Johnson.
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If you have blue eyes, you’re related to Frank Sinatra, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Stephen Hawking, Marie Curie and anyone else with blue eyes. At least, that’s the finding of a group of researchers, who say that humans all originally had brown eyes.

Blue eyes supposed originated due to a mutation from around the Black Sea area during the Neolithic period (6,000 – 10,000 years ago). There’s an OCA2 gene that gets turned off. It stops producing melanin and results in blue eyes. (But if the adjacent OCA gene also gets turned off, you become albino.) According to the research, blue eyes are genetic inheritance, so that would imply that all blue-eyed humans, no matter their race, are linked to the same ancestor.

I’ve always had the utmost musical respect for legendary Led Zeppelin frontman/ rock god Robert Plant, whose songs have been used in several movies. Until now. Zep is one of my all time fave bands, but Plant was apparently at some bar in the UK and didn’t like the music. Plant apparently said that Radiohead were “rhyming crap” and Red Hot Chili Peppers were “nursery rhymes”. He asked for Captain Beefheart, best-known for the experimental rock album Trout Mask Replica, produced by another rock legend, Frank Zappa. The video clip below is of a Captain Beefheart song, Electricity.
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According to the Huffington Post and US, George Clooney is saying that he has to move because of Britney Spears. This is thanks to the helicopters that appeared recently one night over his house. He thought that someone might be in the guest house and with a phone call determined it wasn’t his assistant. George then grabbed a baseball bat and went out to check in his bathrobe. He later found out that Spears’ home is about about 300-400 yards away. So he  feels that he now has to move. Cripes, I’d hate to meet an angry George Clooney in an alley.

Spears in the meantime has gotten back the fake British accent, claims she doesn’t know anyone named Adnan Ghalib, and said the following about Heath Ledger’s death (in a British accent): “He’s still here. Oh, yes. No one ever really dies. No one.” Oh, and she said, “Yes, I’m sick, but in a good way.”

Britney, since you think you’re British now, maybe you should look up the slang term “nutter”. It has nothing to do with legumes. And how dare you drive away handsome and talented George Clooney from his home. Of course, people are saying that you never had a chance.

Kiefer Sutherland has finished his 48 days in jail and is a free man. Unfortunately, with the WGA strike still going, the 24 star will have a lot of idle time on his hands. Stay out of trouble, Kiefer.

Sutherland will appear in the horror Mirrors later this year and is in talks to appear as Jack Bauer in the movie version of 24. He’ll also be providing some voice work for a Dragonlance video.

[sources: People]

Entertainment Weekly recently listed their 10 breakout stars of 2007 (TV, movies, music). I did some digging to find out what these “breakout stars” have coming up in terms of acting.

1. Ellen Page. After her incredible performance in Juno (or so I read; haven’t seen it yet), her name is on everyone’s lips. She’ll be in three films in 2008: Smart People, Light-house, Jack and Diane (a lesbian-themed flick).

2. Amy Ryan. Amy Who? She’s been in the biz for almost twenty years and yet it took being in Gone Baby Gone for her to be really noticed. In 2008, she’ll be in The Missing Person, Bob Funk, and The Changeling (with Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, directed by Clint Eastwood).
3. Zachary Levi. No shame if you don’t recognize his name, but if you get a chance to see the very entertaining and sometimes wistful TV series Chuck, do so. But I guess his star isn’t quite shining yet as the only pic he’s listed in for 2008 is the road trip movie Weiners. Doesn’t exactly sound promising.
4. Sharon Leal. Sharon Leal’s been in various TV shows since the late 90s, most recently in Boston Public and LAX. But she’s in This Christmas with Delroy Lindo and earlier in 2007 in a Tyler Perry flick. In 2008, she’ll be in Linewatch.
5. William Baldwin. Just how many Baldwin brothers are in movies? I’ve heard different numbers, but I can only think of four: Alec, Daniel, William, and Stephen, from oldest to youngest. Sisters Jane Sasso and Elizabeth Keuchler are not in the biz but at least one cousin, Joseph Baldwin, is. William has kind of been in the shadow of Alec and Daniel, but has appeared in a few hit movies (Flatliners, Backdraft) and more recently in the TV series Dirty Sexy Money. In 2008, he’ll appear in Last Hour, Sakura: Blue-Eyed Samurai, and High Midnight.
6. Lauren Conrad. Had you even heard of her before The Hills “documentary” TV series? Me neither. And it’ll be a while before she gains any wide public notoriety, with no upcoming projects.
7. Sean Kingston. He’s a musical performer with no upcoming movie projects, and only mentioned because he’s on EW’s list.
8. Fergie. Hunky beau Josh Duhamel recently proposed to Fergie. Yeah, a weird looking couple. Did you even know the ex-Black Eyed Peas singer/torso gyrater Fergie had an acting career? She appeared in the “Planet Terror” segment of 2007’s Grindhouse, but has no other upcoming movie projects listed. She has appeared in various TV shows dating back to 1984, and even did the voice for It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984, TV).
9. Emile Hirsch. Despite about a decade on TV shows, Emile Hirsch’s name is only starting to “appear” now, after his performance as Christopher McCandless in Sean Penn’s 2007 true-life story Into the Wild. Unfortunately, Hirsch is squandering his growing star power in 2008’s awful-looking Speed Racer. However, being in 2009’s Milk – about San Fransisco’s openly gay official Harvey Milk – might change that.
10. Sherri Shepherd. I’m loathe to mention The View co-host Sherri Shepherd anywhere, after she displayed her immense stupidity on The View by saying there WERE “Christians” before Christ was born. However, she is in the upcoming Push (2008), which also stars Lenny Kravitz.

Of these ten people that EW listed as being stars in 2007, I only see Ellen Page, Amy Ryan, Zachary Levi, William Baldwin, and Emile Hirsch as having any real acting careers. Levi might be limited in characters, from my estimation, but I could be wrong. However, if I were to pick one, I’d say Ellen Page has the greatest potential, a bright career ahead, and probably the most time to prove herself. The video clip below is from Juno, a movie that deserves to win her at least a few nominations if not awards. (Surprisingly, EW left off her very talented costar Michael Cera, who also appeared in Superbad in 2007.)

Here’s a bit of a collection of craziness that Hollywood celebs have been noted for lately. Are these signs that Hollywood is screwed up or is this normal? Read on and decide for yourself if there’s a trend or celebs are just being called out more often.

1. Pulling a “Winona Ryder” and only stealing a lighter (Britney Spears).
2. Not showing up in court (Britney Spears, R. Kelly, Daniel Baldwin). Though R. Kelly and Daniel Baldwin had legitimate reasons.
3. Being a male gold-digger (Larry Birkhead, Kevin Federline, Casey Aldridge?).
4. Sleeping with people other than their spouses. Oh wait, that’s “normal”,
5. Flashing their privates on purpose (Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Christina Aguilera, etc.)
6. Pregnant (nearly everyone), pregnant at 16 (Jamie Lynn Spears), or pregnant in jail (Jessica Sierra).
7. Possibly facing statutory rape charges (Casey Aldridge, Jamie Lynn Spears’ baby daddy).
8. In jail for a DUI charge on their birthday (Kiefer Sutherland).
9. Having to have their kids drug-tested (Britney Spears).
10. Wandering around half naked with white powder on their nostrils (Amy Winehouse).
11. Suffering botched plastic surgery (Tara Reid, Michael Jackson, etc.).
12. Suffering from weight problems (Chastity Bono, Kirstie Alley, etc.) or anorexia.
13. Getting married to several losers in a row (Pam Anderson).
14. Being a really dumb blonde (Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Elizabeth Hasselbeck).
15. Saying really dumb things in public (too many to list all, but Michael Richards, Mel Gibson, Sherri Shepherd, etc.)
16. On the run from tax evasion charges.
17. Doing really bad movies (too many to list).
18. Doing really bad reality shows (Landers twins). Wait, they’re all bad,
19. Wearing really bad wigs (Christina Ricci, Katie Holmes). Ok, it’s not officially a crime.
20. Having reunion tours (Spice Girls) and thinking anyone cares. Unless you’re Led Zeppelin.
21. Filming naked with Philip Seymour Hoffman (NSFW).

Talk about excessive lifestyles (and I didn’t even mention celebrity sex tapes and attacking or running over paparazzi). I don’t remember such a high percentage of stars behaving like this ever. Or maybe they’ve always been like this but didn’t get busted for it, like Michael J. Fox says. Well, I guess everyone can’t be like Denzel Washington and donate a million dollars to a school.