"I loved HBO's The Corner. It was like The Grapes of Wrath in an urban setting. These people showed you this unrelenting horror they faced, but it was always accompanied by hope."
WILL FERRELL, comedian and Saturday Night Live's George W. Bush impersonator
"David Gray's White Ladder. CD is amazing. It's haunting, melodic and very Britishy. He writes interesting music."
HUGH JACKMAN, actor
"I really enjoy the TV show Ed. It's cleverly written and perfectly relaxing. It's really refreshing. And the lead guy, Tom Cavanagh, is just fantastic."
MARIA SHRIVER, TV journalist
"I like U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind. The songs are well-written and sexy. I find it romantic."
CAROL BURNETT, comedian
"I loved Meet the Parents. It was beautifully cast. Blythe Danner was hysterically funny. And the aria that Ben Stiller does on the airplane—the audience just applauded after he did that."
JENNY McCARTHY, actress
"You know what I watch? The Learning Channel's Trauma: Life in the E.R. I'm addicted. I went to school to become a nurse, so I kind of live vicariously through that."
MICHAEL BADALUCCO, actor
"I like the song 'Who Let the Dogs Out' by the Baha Men because of how I relate it to my nephew Matthew. We'd hear it at the New York Mets games this year. Hey, he could sing it and I could sing it!"
FAITH HILL, singer
"Will & Grace is great writing, great acting. It's a great show."
ED O'NEILL, actor
"My favorite TV show is Everybody Loves Raymond. It's a nice ensemble cast and they work well together. The comedy is clever and funny."
HEATHER LOCKLEAR, actress
"I loved Kate Hudson in Almost Famous. I think the actors in the film were all great, but she just has some kind of sparkle."
QUENTIN TARANTINO, director
"I had a blast seeing Gladiator. I was so blown away by how great Russell Crowe was. I saw it with a bunch of friends—men and women—and I just kept thinking, 'Man, we've been waiting for a guy like this to come along for a long time, a guy who guys are way into and girls are way into.' We were all digging him. And seeing him and Oliver Reed together! was amazing. Oliver Reed would have been playing that part if it had been 1971. They were just magic together. It was so cool!"
TARA LIPINSKI, figure skater
"Once and Again is my favorite television show because of the mother-daughter relationship. My mom and I watch it together and we laugh so much."
ELLEN BARKIN, actress
"Spike Lee's Bamboozled is an important film and I took my children to see it. It deals with important issues, and I liked that it's saying something and not just fluff. I don't mind a little fluff, but it's nice now and then to have a movie about serious issues."
JOY BEHAR, talk show host
"I love biographies, and in Tina Sinatra's My Father's Daughter she takes potshots at her stepmother, which is fun to read."
DARREN HAYES, Savage Garden lead singer
"Madonna's Music is one of my favorite albums of all time. I'll put it up there with U2's Achtung Baby and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. The record at first listen is almost indecipherable. But as I kept listening to it, I realized it's courageous, bold and exciting."
TIONNE (T-BOZ) WATKINS, TLC lead singer
"I like No Doubt's 'Simple Kind of Life' from their Return of Saturn CD. I like Gwen Stefani's vibe. She has great energy."
TOM HANKS, actor
"Croupier was unlike any movie I've ever seen. I didn't know when it took place or whether it was a period piece. It was fascinating."
PATRICIA HEATON, actress
"My husband and I like The Sopranos. It's edgier than network TV—and it's on at a time we can watch it without the kids!"
JULIE MORAN, Entertainment Tonight reporter
"Billy Elliot is the best movie I've seen in five years, and because of my job, I see everything!"
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, actor
"The book A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers is brave, fresh, honest and very, very creative. I took some time with it."
JENNA ELFMAN, actress
"Best in Show is my favorite movie. I'm a dog fanatic and I think Christopher Guest is a genius. I'm utterly inspired by him. His subtleties are amazing, just the way he held his body when he was showing the dog. It was hilarious."
MARY TYLER MOORE, actress
"I'd choose Steve Martin's book Shopgirl. He's not just a funnyman, he's a wonderful writer—a poet!"
LORRAINE BRACCO, actress
"The best, most fun book I've read this year has to be The Beatles Anthology. I like it because it's by the Beatles, so it's them retelling their story."
RON HOWARD, director
"I'm a West Wing fan. It's real. It's insightful. It has an incredible cast. The writing is great. It's very well-directed. The show is a complete experience."
KEN BLOCK, Sister Hazel lead singer
"That '70's Show is well-written, absolutely hysterical, touching, nostalgic, smart and personally identifiable to anyone who survived the decade. There's extraordinary attention paid to every detail—from the lime-green appliances and bell-bottom jeans to the shag carpet and rotary phones. It's completely entertaining."
MELISSA JOAN HART, actress
"I recently got into Sex and the City. I really like the strong women in it, and it makes me feel good about dating, because at 24 I'm thinking, 'I'm too old to be dating now.' Then I watch Sex and the City—and realize that's not true!"
HALEY JOEL OSMENT, actor
"My favorite book is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Actually I love the entire series."
PATRICIA ARQUETTE, actress
"Radio-head's new album Kid A is very emotional and strikes something for me."
BRIAN MCKNIGHT, singer-songwriter
"For those of us who are real Steely Dan fans and have been waiting for a studio album since Gaucho, the new CD Two Against Nature is the exact place we expected them to come back to."
JON LOVITZ, comedian "Little Nicky knocked me out. It's hilarious, a very satisfying movie. It's got a lot of art, great humor, a great cast, a corny story, and it's really, really funny and silly, which I like."
MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN, actor
"I like Gladiator. Russell Crowe did a fantastic job. I liked the 1 way he commanded the troops, the forceful ness, the wardrobe, the fight scenes with the lions, everything. When he was telling me about it at the Academy Awards, I didn't really know what to expect. But after seeing the movie, words couldn't even begin to describe it."
PATRICK STEWART, actor
"Meet the Parents made me laugh like a drain—that's an English expression—and these days that's something to be grateful for, isn't it? And I loved the cat."
BEAU BRIDGES, actor
"I really liked my brother Jeff's film The Contender. It was a wonderful look at what would happen if a woman got in there and ran for the Vice Presidency. And Joan Allen is one of my favorite actresses."
MARK WAHLBERG, actor
"I like Wyclef Jean's album The Ecleftic and LL Cool J's G.O.A.T. [Greatest of All Time]. LL's because the guy's been in the game so long and has really stayed on top. And Wyclef's because of his range—hip hop, R&B, reggae. The way he uses those different styles is interesting."
SARAH WYNTER, actress
"I really loved Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out into the Real World by Maria Shriver. I sent it to my mother. I bought a copy for my brother. My boyfriend read it. And now I find myself quoting it. It's a very simple message and it's a really beautiful book."
MATTHEW PERRY, actor
"I thought David Gray's White Ladder was the best record this year. He sounds like a new Bob Dylan-type guy."
JANE SEYMOUR, actress
"I loved everything about the movie Billy Elliot. I found myself tapping my feet. I thought the little boy, Jamie Bell, was fantastic."
BRUCE HORNSBY, musician
"I love the Paul Simon CD You're the One. His lyrics are so inspired and inspiring to me. I think he's absolutely clever with his writing. It moves me and makes me laugh."
MICHAEL RAPAPORT, actor
"The Sopranos is far and away the best show on TV. It's the best acting and it has outstanding writing. The show belongs in its own category. It's somewhere between TV and movies—like Sopranoland."
ERIC IDLE, comedian
"Best in Show is my favorite movie—because it's funny, and the hardest thing to get right is smart, funny comedy."
TYRESE, singer
"I love Kelly Price and her new album, Mirror Mirror. She sings with emotion and soul. I think that's missing on a lot of albums these days. People just sing the lyrics, but they don't have a vested interest in the words. I feel like she comes from the soul. It makes me feel good listening to it."
JEFF BRIDGES, actor
"Chuck & Buck is the kind of movie I love to see because you don't know what's going to happen next. You think you've got the characters pigeonholed, but they keep changing."
ANNE RICE, author
"I watch Crossing Over, John Edward's show on the Sci-Fi Channel. He's a medium and he's remarkable. I'd like to get a reading with him. I'd like him to help me communicate with my loved ones who have died."
KIMBERLY PEIRCE, director
"Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an extraordinary mythic story and the fight sequences are phenomenal. It picks you up and carries you. It's wonderful and a classic romance. And Chow Yun Fat—he's my guy!"
STONE PHILLIPS, TV journalist
"My favorite show is The West Wing. I think it really captures what goes on in Washington. My son watches it with me. It's like a civics lesson."
ALAN THICKE, actor
"I liked The Street because the sex and romance made the market palatable for all of us who have been abused by it."
HOWIE DOROUGH, Backstreet Boy
"Almost Famous was fun for me to see because it showed the reality of the rock and roll business. I could personally relate to some of it—like the dedicated fans all around the world who come to the concerts and sneak into places they're not supposed to be, and always seem to find their way backstage."
DEIDRE HALL, actress
"My 5-and 8-year-old sons were riveted by the film Remember the Titans. At the end we were all cheering. They know about segregation, and it was a lovely reinforcement of how far we've come. The language was fine, there was no violence, and it still conveyed the essence of a very painful time in our culture. They got the message in a safe, easy-to-hear way for children."
JUDY TENUTA, comedian
"Don't get mad at me, but I pick Britney Spears's CD Oops!...J Did It Again. It's great to exercise to. She sounds like a Martian in heat, but I love it."
FABIO, model-actor
"Gladiator is by far my favorite movie. Because it is about the Romans, it reminds me of being home in Italy. I also love that there's action as well as romance. It constantly evokes different emotions. It gets you involved. It's a movie I would watch over and over because of how inspiring it is."
LEE ANN WOMACK, country singer
"I like The O'Reilly Factor on FOX News. It's a great one-stop way for me to get a perspective on what's happening in the world beyond my home and tour bus."
CARMEN ELECTRA, actress
"The movie Quills was amazing, shocking, a little disturbing but very passionate. I really enjoyed it."
GALEN GERING, actor
"MTV's Jackass is about a guy who goes out and, like the name of the show implies, makes an ass out of himself. It's ridiculous and has no social value whatsoever, but it's funny as hell."
PATTY LOVELESS, country singer
"My favorite show is The Practice. Dylan McDermott has the bluest eyes. He's tall, dark and handsome. That's not such a bad thing to have on TV."
CHRISTINA RICCI, actress
"Tiger-land was an amazing movie. All the actors were amazing. The ones with monologues were especially amazing. I felt they really believed in what they were saying."
MO'NIQUE, singer
"I enjoyed the movie Men of Honor because I enjoyed learning about the first African-American master deep-sea diver—and because it stars Cuba Gooding Jr., who is one of my favorite actors."
KATHY NAJIMY, actress
"I love Kathleen Wilhoite's CD Shiva. She was on ER. She played Chloe, Sherry Stringfield's drugged-out sister. I love her songwriting, I love her voice. You feel like she's jumped inside your soul when you listen to her songs. They're all little stories."
LYNN REDGRAVE, actress
"I couldn't put down Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss, a novel about the first Siamese twins."
JESSICA SIMPSON, singer
"My favorite movie this year was Return to Me. I love Minnie Driver, and I just love anything that is romantic, like a real feel-good sappy movie."
ERIQ LASALLE, actor
"Requiem for a Dream is a nice, dirty, gritty, realistic film. I really like that."
HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE, actress
"I like Andre Braugher in everything he does, and I really like Gideon's Crossing. I put it on my TiVo so I can watch it whenever I want. I like the story lines, the energy and that it will be on for years to come. I hope."
BENICIO DEL TORO, actor
"I liked The Original Kings of Comedy and was blown away by Bernie Mac, the comedian. He made me laugh, he made me cry, he made me stomp my feet."
RAY ROMANO, comedian
"I like the new Larry David show on HBO, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I'm a Larry David fan. He's the creator of Seinfeld. He's neurotic, and I identify with him a lot because he's never happy. Isn't that what it's all about for a neurotic comic?"
BILLY GILMAN, country singer
"My favorite movie has to be The Grinch. I just loved Jim Carrey. He did a great job making the movie so fun and crazy."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
