This Week: Highs And Lows
It was a bipolar week in Hollywood with cause for joy, like Oscar nominations, and cause for gloom over accident fatalities and substance abuse.
Fresh faces like Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Rinko Kikuchi, and Abigail Breslin landed on the Oscar nominees list, the most diverse round-up of stars in years.
Friends rejoiced along with the nominees: Actress Salma Hayek, who made the nominations announcement, let out a resounding "YES!" when her friend Penelope Cruz received a nod for her role in "Volver."
And it wasn't only Oscar that sent spirits aloft. Actress Jenna Elfman announced that she is expecting her first child with husband, actor Bodhi Elfman. A message posted on her Web site says, "Me. Pregnant. Having baby. Oh. My. God. Cool!"
Also walking on air are "Prison Break" star Sarah Wayne Callies, who is expecting her first child, and actress Keri Russell, who showed off her tiny baby bump at the Sundance Film Festival, where she walked the red carpet in support of her latest film "Waitress."Photos: Nicole's Nuptials
Actress Mandy Moore opened up this week about a something that's been bringing her down. The successful actress-singer admitted that she recently struggled with depression.
"A few months ago I felt really low, really sad. Depressed for no reason," she said in a new interview with Jane magazine. "I'm a very positive person, and I've always been glass-half-full. So it was like someone flipped a switch in me. I wanted to figure out why."
The controversy surrounding Isaiah Washington hit a new low when the "Grey's Anatomy" star enrolled in a counseling program, an action many see as a last-ditch effort by his publicists to save his career. Rumors that he'll get the axe from the network have been swirling ever since he blurted out an anti-gay slur at a Golden Globes press conference.
Paris Hilton's reputation plummeted yet again when a Web site offering the heiress' photographs, home videos, diaries, recorded phone conversations and phone numbers was launched on Tuesday. For just $39.97 a month, one can see footage of Hilton using illegal substances, among other things. The stuff on the site was what Hilton left behind at an L.A. storage spot that someone failed to foot the bill for.
If that wasn't enough trouble for one week, a judge handed down a sentence of 36 months probation after Hilton pleaded no contest Monday to alcohol-related reckless driving stemming from her arrest late last year.
Also cropping up this week were details of the fatal high-speed December crash involving singer and reality TV judge Brandy.
In a statement sent to The Showbuzz, Brandy's publicist said: "Brandy was involved in a car accident Dec. 30, 2006, in Los Angeles where there was a fatality. She wishes to publicly express her condolences to the family of the deceased. Brandy asks that you respect the privacy of everyone involved at this time."
Nicole Kidman was another celebrity brought low by high speed hijinks this week. She was taken to an L.A. hospital early Thursday morning after the Jaguar she was in crashed while she was shooting her new sci-fi thriller, "The Invasion." Kidman was released two hours later.
Earlier in the week, Kidman's husband, country star Keith Urban, felt compelled to express his high regard for his wife in a video message posted on his Web site. Recounting his 90 days in rehab for alcohol abuse, he wrote: "My wife stayed extraordinarily strong and loving, and my friends and family were there."
And finally, a sparkler belonging to actress Jennifer Garner literally went down the drain, only to be brought back up by a plumber. She talked about the engagement ring mishap in a TV interview. It was, she said, a secret she had been keeping from husband Ben Affleck.