ENTERTAINMENT AS A WAY OF LIFE
MOVIELINE
May 2000
FEATURES
Piper Perabo
Seventeen years ago, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer set off a box-office bonfire with Flashdance, the saga of a shapely welder in a Pittsburgh steel mill who dreams of being a ballerina but makes a buck by bumping and grinding her nights away in a sleazy blue-collar bar.
Ashton Kutcher
It's hardly surprising that young, shaggy-haired Ashton Kutcher looks like he's the offspring of some '70s rocker--he stars as the puka-shelled, bell-bottomed, spacey heartthrob Michael Kelso on the popular sitcom "That 70s Show."
White Trash Fever
Every few years Hollywood resurrects trailer park chic. This year, the trend could reach an all-time high thanks to Julia Roberts, who slinks through Erin Brockovich in some of the sexiest pseudo-cheap duds this side of the Mississippi.
Freddie Prinze Jr.: The Artist Known as Prinze
He became a star playing the good-guy charmer in films like I Know What You Did Last Summer and She's All That, and he'll do it again in next month's Boys and Girls. But in real, life, Freddie Prinze Jr. isn't the easygoing boy next door his teen fans imagine. For one, he playacts being a comic book superhero when no one's around. For another, he admits he cries a lot and prays every morning in the shower. Do we really need a third example?
Heath Ledger: Heath Wave
He gained a huge teen following when he played a cocky charmer in 10 Things I Hate About You. Then he swore off teen films and just waited. As a reward for his nerve, Heath Ledger is likely to pick up just about every other type of following when he stars with Mel Gibson this summer in The Patriot.
Ridley Scott: The Real Fight Club
Ridley Scott turned Alien, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise into pop cultural phenomena. With his new romantic sword-and-sandal epic Gladiator, he's made the movie all Young Hollywood wanted to be in and now wants to see.
Neal Moritz: Puttin' on Moritz
Neal H. Moritz Launched Joshua Jackson as a movie star by putting him in three films. Ryan Phillippe, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Cellar have each made two Moritz films. Paul Walker has made one and Wes Bentley and Leelee Sobieski are about to take the plunge. No wonder the producer is considered Young Hollywood's secret weapon.