Dear readers: Every week, I keep you up-to-date on your favorite stars. This week, I bring you a look at some people you need to know in the coming year. Now, go dazzle friends with your knowledge at that New Year's brunch. And have a happy 2007.
Abbie Cornish is the latest Australian beauty to make it stateside on the big screen. A co-star in Ryan Phillippe's upcoming Iraq war drama, she also reportedly was the woman behind his split from wife Reese Witherspoon. Cornish, 24, has a reputation for edgy performances, such as the one she gives in "Candy" with Heath Ledger, and she gets compared to Nicole Kidman. In 2007, she adds two more big films, "The Golden Age" (a sequel to "Elizabeth" starring fellow Aussie actress Cate Blanchett), as well as "Stop-Loss," that drama with Phillippe.
USA WEEKEND goes to the Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 15 will showcase all of the big names you'll be talking about in the new year. And USA WEEKEND, with TV partner Access Hollywood, brings you an insider's view. Today and next week, we pose a question to test your Golden Globes knowledge. On Jan. 14, you'll find our cover story with "Access" host Nancy O'Dell.
Question of the week In 2005, this Golden Globe winner sat on Billy Bush's lap and kissed him in Access Hollywood's interview room. Was it:
A) Hilary Swank
B) Jamie Foxx
C) Teri Hatcher
D) William Shatner
Think you know? For the answer to this week's question, tune into "Access" on Monday. (Psst: You also can find it here in Who's News next week.)
Last week's answer: Angelina Jolie went swimming in her designer gown after winning a Globe for the HBO movie "Gia." Last week's question?
Carson Daly isn't just the face of NBC's New Year's Eve show. (He hosts his third -- live from Times Square -- on Sunday and tells me he has been doing his "no-rain dance" for weeks.) He is also a smart guy who's looking at the Web with an entrepreneurial eye. He's developing itsyourshowtv.com, a website that awards cash for creative videos, into a TV program for NBC. Look for Daly, 33, to host the show and air some of the videos sometime in the new year.
Michelle Pfeiffer is back. She hasn't been seen onscreen in five years because she has been raising her two kids. But Pfeiffer, 48, is in three '07 films. First, there's a February romantic comedy, "I Could Never Be Your Woman," then a July fantasy, "Stardust," co-starring Robert De Niro, followed by the summer musical "Hairspray," with John Travolta.
Three can be a crowd. In Hollywood, anyway, it can guarantee one. Consequently, we will see The Summer of 3. There's "Spider-Man 3" (Tobey Maguire), "Shrek the Third" (Mike Myers) and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (with devilish Johnny Depp). And that's just in May. The trilogy trend continues in June and August with "Ocean's Thirteen" (George Clooney), "The Bourne Ultimatum" (Matt Damon) and "Rush Hour 3" (Jackie Chan).
Nineteenth-century novelist Jane Austen is hot in the 21st. In early 2007, Anne Hathaway plays Austen in "Becoming Jane," which is about Austen's relationship with the Irishman said to inspire her. As if she needed him! Later in the year, Maria Bello stars in "The Jane Austen Book Club," taken from the novel about five women and one man who bond over their devotion to Austen's novels.
Put David Kirsch on your radar. He's the fitness guru who gets Heidi Klum into catwalk shape -- and fast. In fact, the "Project Runway" star's baby son Johan was days old when she called to line up Kirsch again. "It's interesting to work with celebrities; they are very goal-oriented," says Kirsch, 46. "But they still have to put their shorts on one leg at a time." Kirsch, who is the author of "The Ultimate New York Diet," says he gives his star clients (such as Faith Hill and Liv Tyler) the same advice he gives us. "If the mind is not healthy, you'll never get a sound body."
December 31: Gong Li 41; Val Kilmer 47
January 1: Verne Troyer 38
January 2: Kate Bosworth 24; Taye Diggs 35; Cuba Gooding Jr. 39
January 3: Danica McKellar 32
January 4: Jeremy Licht 36; Patty Loveless 50
January 5: Diane Keaton 61; Robert Duvall 76
January 6: Joey Lauren Adams 36
