There are some things you can rely on in this world – the sun will rise, the sun will set and, this year those mentioned here will cause constant havoc, hype and hyperbole. These are the guys who entered the year screaming and never stopped.
1. CHARLIE SHEEN
Last year, Sheen gave the media a present when he was arrested on Christmas Day in Aspen for a domestic violence incident with wife Brooke Mueller. That set off a 12-month Sheen smorgasbord of court dates, allegations of death threats, shaved heads, the almost-charming preemptive rehab and a plea deal in August. Then in the fall, there was a Big Apple binge, followed on Oct. 26 by a wrecked hotel room with porn star escort Capri Anderson cowering in the bathroom while ex-wife Denise Richards and the couple’s daughters were asleep down the hall.
See all our year-end Top 5s here!
A week later Sheen instigated divorce proceedings against soon-to-be ex-wife Muller, followed by a suit against Anderson for extortion. Somewhere in there TV’s highest paid actor – who pulls down an estimated $1.8M an episode on his hit CBS sitcom – re-upped with CBS and filmed effortlessly entertaining cameos for both “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” and “Due Date.”
2. “TRON: LEGACY”
With a production budget of about $170M and promotional costs of more than $120M, the 3D sequel to 1982’s “Tron” was more marketing machine than actual movie. The relentless campaign, which has been going since the first flickers of the film were shown at Comic-Con in 2008, was impressive. The movie, however, was banal. What did Disney get on the bottom line? A tepid $44M opening weekend box office – which really wasn’t worth the hype.
3. SARAH PALIN
McCain's running-mate should have been a Trivial Pursuit question by now, instead she is the most powerful woman in American politics. With bestselling books and a Fox News platform on one hand and shooting deer on her TLC series on the other — plus a daughter who dances with stars — the woman who invented the word "refudiate" has America enthralled. And you just know it's only going to get better once her White House bid starts in 2012.
4. SAM ZELL
As the slow-drip drama of Tribune’s now two-year Chapter 11 bleeds on, the embattled Tribune chair was been burned throughout the year in litigious effigy by creditors and former employees who believe the real estate billionaire sold them and the company’s value down the river. To make matters worse for Zell, the management team that he put in place when he took over at Tribune, owners of the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune and other media properties, proved a PR disaster. Tribune CEO Randy Michaels, among others, had to resign in October in disgrace for frat boy behavior. Still Zell, who actually backed off running the place months back, never said “sorry” and only promises that he’ll leave Tribune once it gets out bankruptcy. Whenever that is.
5. LINDSAY LOHAN
No disrespect to her lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley, who is truly one of the hardest working women in show biz, the only real question is why doesn’t wild child LiLo have the hottest reality series on TV? We'd put her feuding parents Michael and Dina on a desert island and let Charlie Sheen’s publicist Stan Rosenfield announce the couple’s engagement. Lindsay's ending the year still at the Betty Ford, but not without a fight or two — literally.
