Well, one thing everyone (at least, reviewers) seems to agree on is the fact that Good Luck Chuck is terrible. No, I'm not talking half-and-half terrible, but almost 100% awful. So far, the flick is sporting (as of noon Friday) 3 out of 36 positive reviews -- and those are more like "hey, it's crap, but the kids will like it." So, in honor of this cinematic assault, MSNBC chatted with industry insiders, journalists, and bloggers to see who they thought were the people least-deserving of the spotlight. (With Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie immediately disqualified, of course.)

Now, you probably won't agree with all of this list. Heck, you might even think they're crazy, but this isn't about being a decent actor, but whether these guys deserve all the hype they are getting. Do they have the goods to back up the mega-stardom, or are they riding the celebrity machine? Their list: the Jessicas (Alba, Biel, Simpson), Adrian Grenier, Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Carlos Mencia, John Travolta, and Renee Zellweger.* Surprisingly, they left off Tom Cruise. I guess they had to pick which Scientologist actor would take the final space.

So yeah, this is all over the place. The Jessicas are definitely aided by the celebrity, but good ol' Elton has the celebrity because of the years of success and experience (although I don't think I'm the only one who would love to see him return to stuff like Tiny Dancer). And what about people like Kirsten Dunst and Scarlett Johansson, or Colin Farrell and Orlando Bloom? What actors and actresses would you put on this list?

*The final name has been added -- she was hiding below one of those pesky ads.

Barry Koltnow, over at the OC Register, has posted a little rant about Hollywood and the rampant cult of celebrity. He asks: "In the wake of everything that has happened recently with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie, is there anyone left on the planet who doesn't think that something is terribly wrong with this Hollywood?" To him, something must be done pronto, and his suggestion: "Baby boomers need to seize control of the culture... Without our help, they will continue to worship people like Paris Hilton. They will continue to wear baseball caps crooked. They will continue to turn up their sound systems at red lights to a decibel level that would embarrass Blue Cheer." Granted, this is coming from a blogger who writes a lot about Paris and celebrity, but it's still an interesting notion: how did this all come to be?

Did boomers really, step back, let what Koltnow calls "slackers" take over and run Hollywood into the ground? Could a boomer resurgence change things? As long as the internet and super-quick media exists, I'd say no, because really, I don't think the actions are changing, just the way and amount that we hear about them. There have always been questionable celebrity shenanigans and wildness. A few decades ago, it was Drew Barrymore, and many years before her -- Marilyn Monroe. I'd love a new standard of beauty, regardless of age, but doesn't our current standard come from the past? If skinny-lust was only a construct of this generation, Twiggy never would've became a widely-recognized name. What say you? Is this "a clear call to arms?" Should we "crush the youth culture and save the world," or are we continuing an ever-cycling desire for celebrity drama?

[via Arts Journal]

Oh, that wacky George Clooney: He's announced that he'd like to outwit the paparazzi, who are continually linking him with this actress or that one, by going out to dinner every night with a different celebrity, whether male or female, and letting everyone draw (incorrect) conclusions. Today's my little sister's birthday, George ... she's not famous, but she'd love to help you thwart photographers and gossipmongers.

So how many of the following news items do you think were staged by the celebrities themselves, either for publicity or to intentionally diminish the credibility of gossip columns?

• Actress/singer Avril Lavigne has not been handling the paparazzi in such a classy fashion. Last weekend, she had to apologize for spitting on some of the photographers.
• Peter Sarsgaard (pictured at right, mmm) and Maggie Gyllenhaal have announced the birth of their daughter. The baby, born Tuesday night, is named Ramona. No other details are available, although I guess that refutes the rumor I heard about Sarsgaard being spotted holding hands on the beach this week with Clooney.

Despite the damage from Hurricane Katrina last year, New Orleanians are gearing up for Mardi Gras, perhaps with more enthusiasm than ever. If anyone needs a good party right now, it's the people on the Gulf Coast. Parades have already started; the larger, more elaborate New Orleans parades will roll next weekend through Tuesday, Feb. 28, which is Fat Tuesday.

Many big parades have traditionally featured celebrities as special marshals, waving atop a float and throwing a few beads. This year is no exception. Jim Belushi and Dan Ackroyd will ride in Endymion next Saturday night and will perform at the ball afterwards. Michael Keaton will ride in Bacchus on Sunday and Steven Seagal will ride on Monday night in Orpheus, the parade founded by Harry Connick, Jr. While you might not consider this year's celebrities to be A-list, they get big points for supporting the city. My own initial reaction was "Seagal? Why on earth?" until I found out he is a spokesman for Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit that is focusing a lot of energy in fixing up New Orleans. Now I think he's a fine choice.

And if that isn't enough celebrity action for Mardi Gras attendees, Britney Spears also plans to be in New Orleans on Fat Tuesday "with a special surprise." I don't even want to guess.

While we at Cinematical aren't really into the fashion or parties of Sundance, the festival is known for everything Hollywood has, including outlandish parties and high-end fashion. Gifting consultant Jono, working in association with Moviefone, stopped by our fireplace at the Yarrow for a quick Q&A. Jono has been working in the fashion industry creating outlandishly gaudy giftbags for celebrities for New York Fashion Week and other events over the past 10 years.  This year's Sundance is his first time in Park City, and he's here working in association with Moviefone.  We sat down and talked with him for a few minutes about the idea of gifting, and he even reviewed one of the giftbags we recieved at a festival event.  Pretty entertaining interview, check it out at the download below.

Format
QT MPEG4 (3IVX), 10:45, 51.8 MB

[Download Here]

So by now you've heard about Blogebrity - the fledgling blog-gossip blog that's working on dividing the girls and boys behind the, uh, blogosphere (yeah, I said it) into A, B, and C list status. Even leaving aside their very smart decision to add several of us WINsters to various columns (there's like 70 of us; if we didn't get at least a 10% namecheck, shit was gonna get rough), we love Blogebrity because it multitasks as an excellent blogroll. Which is why it's super interesting to see a bunch of Hollywood types sprinkled across the various lists. Actor/director Zach Braff and multi-mogul Mark Cuban are A-list; Dave Navarro is B-list; Rosie O'Donnell's sits right above our own Kat Parr on the C-list. There are probably more celebrities masquerading as blogebrities, but my head is so inflated after making the B-list that it's actually hard for me to read.