Enough chatter about Levi and his hockey stick on the imaginary cover of Playgirl. Child's play! We all know the sexy grown-ups are on the cover of People -- at least once a year, when the magazine names its Sexiest Man Alive. Yesterday Johnny Depp reprised his 2003 victory, taking the title for 2009. So what's it take to win the distinction? Hint: Levi's gonna need a few more years under his belt and, um, at least a few blockbuster movies -- or some such career -- before he's eligible.
In an attempt to discern the magic sexy formula, Slate analyzed a sampling of quotes from People editors explaining how honorees from years past earned the distinction. ("He can wear gold teeth and still look good," was cited among the considerations for Depp's previous crowning.) Suffice it to say, you might be competitive if you've got a "a hard body with a soft center," a "down-to-earth Aussie vibe," an "elegant, but down to earth" air, "a twinkle in the eye," or are just "wonderfully ordinary." You're still gonna need decent bone structure though. And a really good publicist.
I admit it: I couldn't care less about Twilight -- and to be totally honest -- I'd rather stake myself in the heart than be confronted by another mopey vampire at the newsstand or on my television set shilling Volvos. However, I will get behind all the half-naked guys running around the set of New Moon -- chief among them Taylor Lautner, who put on 30 pounds of muscle to play the role of were-twink Jacob Black (I am the only one who thinks it's weird that the werewolves in this movie are all waxed within an inch of their lupine lives?).
"Obviously I spent a lot of hours in the gym," says Lautner via the BBC. "The
most important part for me was the eating process. I had to double or
triple my calorie intake per day. It was a matter of eating every two
hours, disgusting things like meat patties and raw almonds and sweet
potatoes." (Sweet potatoes and almonds are disgusting? How old is this guy? 4?) But Lautner isn't the only one who'll be flashing a nipple or two when New Moon hits theaters on November 20. Robert Pattinson, the film's pasty lead, recently said, "I was really terrified [of going shirtless]. I hadn't worked out at all,
and I saw Taylor at the beginning of the year and I did feel incredibly
inadequate."
I wouldn't worry too much, Bobby. At this point no matter what you do, countless teenage girls, middle-age women and a healthy handful of gay men will still be knocking on your coffin lid.
[Editor's note: Already, in less than 24 hours, the incredible response to our interview with Adam Lambert -- and our Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin's open letter to Adam -- has made a few things clear: 1) His fan base is awesomely, ferociously dedicated to the singer and 2) perhaps there is some confusion surrounding the intention and/or overall point of Hicklin's letter.
In an effort to shine a bit of a brighter light on the subject, the author of the interview with Lambert (Part One can be read here and Part Two can be read here), Shana Naomi Krochmal, penned the following to address some of the literally thousands of comments that have been already left all over the Internet regarding this story.]
Let's get the most obvious thing out of the way first: Yes, it is totally absurd to imagine that anyone thinks they can somehow control or manage how gay Adam Lambert seems on any given day. You've seen him, right? Maybe read an interview with him? That's exactly what I love about Adam, that in addition to being able to sing his face off (his words), he is defiantly, outrageously campy and queer -- and that he seems to have such a sense of humor about it, and a willingness to shake things up.
That said: Despite plenty of back and forth between the magazine and the label about the cover and the photo shoot, I still wasn't prepared for what happened when I showed up at the 19 Entertainment offices for the interview. I briefly met Adam, and then the publicist and I walked out to the balcony, at which point I was cautioned against making the interview "too gay," or, "you know, gay-gay." Specifically I was discouraged from asking about the March on Washington that upcoming weekend or other political topics. I pointed out the difference between the Advocate, Out's sister newsmagazine, and Out, which is more broadly a men's fashion and lifestyle book, but obviously made no promises one way or the other. It was pretty awkward, as if we were discussing two totally different people -- an Adam who doesn't seem to have any real filter when talking about his life or his opinions, and an Adam who could somehow be contained, made safe for mainstream America.
Who's that hunk on a horse? Oh, it's just breakout Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson, who's making his prime-time debut on 30 Rock tonight.
In honor of the occasion, Out's editor in chief Aaron Hicklin sat down with Jackson for a Q&A in which we learn where this multitasker -- who's also starring in the current revival of Finian's Rainbow and just released an album -- got the nickname "the human ThighMaster" and why he thinks he must've been married to Jane Krakowski (Xanadau's Kira and 30 Rock's Jenna Maroney) in another life.
> Pasty Robert Pattinson reveals that he felt a little star-struck
when he came face to face with the golden vision that is Zac Efron,
"just because his face is so specific, it’s kind of surreal."
> The first and only Playboy bunny to come out (Stephanie Adams, Miss November 1992) is marrying ... a man.
Arjan Timmermans, one of our 2009 "School Days" themed Out 100 honorees (the dashing blogger and head of Arjanwrites.com was voted "Most Likely To Be in the Computer Lab" and is pictured above left with blogger Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend), will take to Santos Party House in NYC on Thursday night to oversee the second of his Superfraiche concerts.
Earlier this year Timmermans, who launched his site in 2003 and was the first-ever credentialed blogger to cover the MTV VMAs and the Grammys, debuted the Superfraiche series, which aims to introduce and provide a platform for worthy new pop acts, with a show featuring Fritz Helder and the Phantoms, Noah, Kate Havnevik, and Kaci Battaglia.
On Thursday the show will feature Dangerous Muse, Brad Walsh (who, when he isn't making irresistible pop songs, spends his time boyfriending Project Runway's Christian Siriano), Menya, Reni Lane, Sam Taylor, and DJ Josh Madden. All proceeds from the event will benefit War Child, a worldwide organization that provides humanitarian assistance to kids
in war-torn areas around the word. More specifically, this Superfraiche will
support the music programs of Artists United for Children and Youth Development (AUCAYD) in Sierra Leone. British music retailer 7Digital.com will also be giving away free mp3 album downloads to everyone who attends the show.
We caught up with Timmermans at the first Superfraiche concert this summer and here's what he had to say about his inspiration for creating and curating the series:
Oh, it's magic time. A second non-Disney Zac Efron film in 2009? My heart is just aflutter. And doesn't this one look good? A critical darling when it made its film festival debut, Me and Orson Welles will have a limited release starting November 25th (and a wider release in December) and I just could not be more excited. Opening night? Forget homework, I will be there to take in every quivering lip, every piercing stare from those big watery blue eyes, and every moment of stillness as we wonder if our Boy Wonder might burst into song.
This could be the very film to launch Efron into adult drama -- if his character in the trailer doesn't give you little chills recalling Jack Dawson, you're lying to yourself. Titanic was the last of Leonardo DiCaprio's romantic roles, so before Zefron too quickly transforms into a cussing, bearded hunter of African diamonds, let's take look at some of his lesser-known dramatic roles that you may (or may not, frankly) want catch up on before you step into the theater to see Claire Danes snog another handsome leading man (seriously, between Leo, Jared Leto, and Hugh Dancy some girls just have all the luck!)
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