HOLLYWOOD—Another year is gone, so who were the stars who got us talking in 2013? The biggest meltdown of the year was former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes. She claimed she was leaving Hollywood behind when she moved to New York earlier in 2013, but her bizarre antics-posting selfies and ranting on Twitter kept her a staple on Twitter. She was arrested for allegedly tossing a bong out of a New York apartment window and involuntarily committed to a mental ward after starting a small fire in the driveway of a home in Los Angeles where she grew up. She was later transferred to a rehab center and released to her parents in December.
The most over-exposed celebrity goes to Miley Cyrus. After the debacle on the VMA stage with Robin Thicke, she rose to bigger fame. The apology of the year has to go to Paula Deen, the queen of food, lost her Food Network contract and her book deals, when a leaked deposition in a racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit revealed she admitted to using the N-word in the past. The biggest hot-tempered celebrity goes to, Alec Baldwin who is notorious for losing his temper with the paparazzi. His latest clash with the paparazzo was back on November 14, 2013 when he allegedly hurled a couple of gay slurs at him. After, apologizing, he was still suspended from his MSNBC talk show which was eventually cancelled.
The coming out of the year award has to go to Jodie Foster who thanked Cydney Bernard at the 2013 Golden Globes Award show. Wentworth Miller “Prison Break,” Charice, Raven-Symone and Robin Roberts came out in 2013. The over-the-top wedding goes to Napster founder and Facebook billionaire Sean Parker, and fiancée Alexandra Lenas had the “Lord of the Rings,” themed wedding including a Big Sur 9-foot tall wedding cake. The designs were actually by “The Lord of the Rings,” costume designer. Just the site alone was $4.5 million, including a stone castle, Roman columns and faux bridges.
The bombshell of 2013 was Teresa and Joe Giudice of the reality show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” who became under investigation by the feds. Joe pled the Fifth Amendment when he was questioned about hiding assets in their 2011 bankruptcy proceedings. They were both accused of 41 counts of bankruptcy, mail and wire fraud, with prosecutors alleging they defrauded lenders to illegally obtain mortgages, and hid assets and income during their bankruptcy pleading. They could face years in prison and Joe Giudice could be deported to his native Italy, since he never became an American citizen. In addition, he still faces charges accusing him of using his brother’s information to obtain a New Jersey drivers license when his own was suspended due to a DUI.
In looking into my crystal ball for what’s in store for 2014, the Guidices will continue to fight their case in court. Miley Cyrus will continue to actively shed her Disney persona. Alec Baldwin will still have a bad temper unless he seeks some anger-management classes. So what will be trending in 2014? Some say that times are definitely changing. Who would have thought that Pope Francis would be named Time Magazine’s person of the year. Social media is here to stay, while Facebook might be known as the Myspace of 2014, it still continues as the top three, to post pictures of your lunch or to just post that you’re at work. Twitter and Instagram continue to reign.
Music concerts for 2014 will continue to shine with big acts; Jay Z, Miley Cyrus, One Direction and Bon Jovi. At the movies we will be looking forward to Bible-centric films, with Russell Crowe staring in “Noah,” and Christian Bale playing Moses in “Exodus.” A new Jesus Christ movie will be on the way for 2014, “Son Of God, with Roma Downey as Mother Mary.
Next month Jay Leno retires from NBC’s, “The Tonight Show,” and he will be replaced by Jimmy Fallon, who in turn is replaced by Seth Meyers on the network’s “Late Night” show. Taking a bow in March on CBS is “How I Met Your Mother.” In May, the show “24,” returns from the dead on Fox. The show “Californication,” will exit Showtime in the summer.
Rose’s Scoop: This month marks the 13th year I have been writing this column. Thank you for the continued readership and support.
By Rose Quintiliano