The Toast - Best Of 2008 Celebrity News

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2008 has come and gone and as far as Hollywood's concerned, here's the general reaction..."What the mother heck just happened?" Here at The Toast, we figured it'd only be appropriate to sum it up in a nifty little video segment. Here's what happened that, for whatever reason, caught our attention.

Star Gazing

Britney Spears owned 2008, ain't no doubt on that one. The year started with Brit wigging out and getting hauled to the place where they keep psychopaths. The crazy lady escaped however, and managed to transform herself just in in time to cut a number one album and make a boatload of cash.

Madonna found a few creative ways to stay in the headlines this year as well. Between a costly divorce with Guy Ritchie, her courtship of Yankee All-Star A-Rod, and a little Kabbalah-laced insanity, the material girl had a year to remember, despite her attempts to forget it.

Janistolie (it's my word for Jen Aniston and Angelina Jolie,) got themselves in a scuffle over mustache-weilding stud muffin Brad Pitt. The two traded a few nasty verbal assaults in the media and managed to sell a metric buttload of magazines in the process.

Reel World

In what's become an all-too-familiar trend, Heath Ledger died just prior to seeing his film The Dark Knight smash record after record at the box office. Heath's Joker stunned audiences and critics and led to a $530 million payday for the studios.

Ironman, Slumdog Millionaire, and Indiana Jones all continue to pull in respectable numbers as well, but that all pales in comparison to the fact that Mickey Rourke rose from the Hollywood grave to turn in a slam-dunk performance in The Wrestler.

The studios cranked out a few turds as well this year, notably The Love Guru and Leatherheads, which both cost more to make than they took in at the ticket counter.

                                                      Tube Talk

The writer's strike continued into 2008, crippling everything in its path, including the Golden Globes and the first half of the season for dozens of shows.

Never fear though...reality television came along to save us all! American Idol fell flatter than ever before, giving us a handful of "stars" (including Missouri native David Cook,) that have yet to give us anything memorable. Other shows pulling in big numbers include Dancing with the Stars, House, and CSI.

Then the Primetime Emmys came along and HBO told the rest of the networks to go make Daddy a sandwich while smiling producers collected 26 statues, thanks in large part to the John Adams miniseries.

That's only the tip of the iceberg, however. Click the Featured Video tab for the entire year in review Toast-style. Muchas gracias burrito for tuning in this year! BTW, we love fan mail!

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