Monday, November 19, 2012

LET THEM ENTERTAIN YOU:  As we near the end of the year, it's time to begin speculating about EW's Entertainer of the Year.  My thoughts for the frontrunners:
  • Joss Whedon and the cast of The Avengers--It's the #1 movie of the year by a big margin thus far, and the only thing I'm seeing the rest of the year that has a shot at topping it is The Hobbit, which I'm not convinced isn't going to disappoint commercially.
  • Jennifer Lawrence--Star and face of The Hunger Games (the #3 movie of the year thus far), and a likely Oscar nominee for Silver Linings Playbook.  She's easily going to be on the Top 10 list, but #1?  I doubt it.
  • Twilight/Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson--This is the easy choice to sell magazines, and Stewart has been the female lead in two $150M+ grossers this year, not an easy feat.
  • Channing Tatum--Lead in 3 $100M+ grossers this year, covering comedy and drama, and will sell magazines.
  • Seth MacFarlane--TV empire, what will almost certainly remain the highest-grossing comedy of the year, and hosting next year's Oscars?  Again, sounds like a Top 10 choice, but I'm not convinced #1.
  • E.L. James/50 Shades of Grey--Would be only second writer to be so recognized, but in terms of cultural force, there's a darn good case to be made.  But would the cover sell?
  • Taylor Swift--Would be the first ever repeat winner, but she's the logical choice for music this year if they want to go in that direction.
  • The cast of the NCIS Franchise--TV's top scripted show by a country mile, with a third spinoff coming later this year. (Also possible in a similar vein?  The cast of The Big Bang Theory.) 
Anything else I'm missing?

13 comments:

  1. Adam B.9:31 AM

    Jennifer Lawrence, with an inset photo of the Twilight cast in the upper-right corner.

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  2. Steve9:39 AM

    Louis CK, Louis CK and Louis CK.

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  3. Could they be doing a "superheroes" cover, thereby getting Avengers, new Spider-Man and Dark Knight Rises all in one shot?

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  4. andrewraff10:46 AM

    Psy.

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  5. Adam B.10:53 AM

    Welcome to minute 14: Psy w/MC Hammer, last night's AMAs:

    http://youtu.be/WOyo7JD7hjo

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  6. I wonder if they might try to acknowledge Matthew McConaughey. Tatum clearly had the bigger year, so if they acknowledge just ONE "Magic Mike" cast member, it'll be Tatum. But with "Magic Mike" and "Killer Joe" and (especially) "Bernie", McConaughey had the more interesting year. (And I still think he's got a shot at an Oscar nom, Supporting Actor for "Magic Mike"?)

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  7. andrewraff11:04 AM

    Sure, no one is going to remember Psy in 2 years, but Gangnam Style will continue to be catchy as hell.


    But seriously, he's one of the faces of the new music reality -- that YouTube has become the most important music distribution tool for hits. Because it's not really about Psy, but it's about Gangnam Style and Call Me Maybe and the hundreds of covers and parodies and how we relate to pop music in a very different way than we did before YouTube.

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  8. girard3111:08 AM

    I agree with you on "The Hobbit", which is more for the LOTR geeks than for mass appeal.


    It's interesting that while "The Avengers" dominated for a long period, it didn't seem to have the resounding buzz some of your other choices received. (Face it, 50 Sahdes was a running joke for a long time, and the Twilight pre-show "scandal" seemed to be around forever, and Taylor Swift was EVERYWHERE this year, and not in a good way).


    I'm going to say the Twi-Hards win the day.

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  9. I'm too lazy to look it up, but has a man ever been both "Sexiest Man Alive" and "Entertainer of the Year" in the same year? I would think EW would want to be distinctive from People, no?

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  10. isaac_spaceman8:22 PM

    Spacewoman said last night that Gangnam Style was just Who Let the Dogs Out?, and while I think she meant culturally, it's kind of true musically as well. "Hey sexy ladies" and "who let the dogs out" share more than a little bit of DNA.

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  11. isaac_spaceman8:24 PM

    If, in a given year, there isn't an entertainer of the year, maybe there shouldn't be an Entertainer of the Year. There certainly isn't anyone I'd take over "field."

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  12. bill.8:59 AM

    comparing lists on Wiki, the answer is no.

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  13. Marsha12:09 PM

    Not only because of the creative output, but because of his pioneering work on the distribution model for his specials, and because of the interesting creative-control arrangement he has with FX.

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