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Celebrities play an important role even outside their respective fields. Actors, actresses, athletes, musicians–you name it–people pay attention to them, listen to them, and are more often than not heavily influenced by them. When celebrities tell us to buy a new car, a house, eat pizza, smoke cigars, and buy DVD’s we usually do, right? Hence, there’s no excuse when it comes to voting the next President.

So let’s put aside all this whimsical talk when it comes to politics. In any case, it’s not as if you’re going to find any stable information on it other than long-winded speeches which eats away at your attention span in less than five seconds flat–believe me, I’ve scoured the internet to no avail. In the lighter side of things, it seems that celebrities are getting into the action as Election Day approaches. But in this part of the race, I think we should take a look at who’s got the upper hand.

Democrats are now attributed to change. It’s a rather just proposition which also accurately reflects its chosen candidate, Barack Obama. He’s young, Idealistic, and he’s black—though technically half-white. Lastly, most women also think he’s good looking, which is a big plus when it comes to credibility. And among his entourage of celebrities we have names such as: Leonardo DiCaprio, Stevie Wonder, Steven Spielberg, Christina Applegate, Pierce Brosnan, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, and Isaiah Washington.

As for the tried and tested Republicans, we get a really tried and tested looking kind of guy. Senator John McCain is old. In fact, he’s considered as the oldest presidential candidate in the world. Okay, maybe not the world, but at least in U.S. history. He’s also bleach white, which is so hard not to notice. I would hate to play hide and seek with him outside the White House. Even his celebrity backing is, unsurprisingly, dominated by Caucasians. He has names such as: Lance Armstrong, Stephen Baldwin, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jean Claude Van Damme, Troy Aikman, Tony Danza, Dennis Hopper, Chuck Norris, and a slew of “Christian Rockers” whose names and bands I am thankfully ignorant of.

It’s pretty much clear that the Democrats can claim “no contest” when it comes to celebrity backing. More relatively younger and successful celebrities of today seem to have found their niche in Senator Obama, as opposed to old, questionably American, kumbaya shredding, Texas rangers and cowboys who have seen better days.

For those of us who sit in front of our television or a movie screen overflowing with envy while watching those famous beautiful people grace us with their inhumanly good looks and perfect physiques, rest assured that we can now feel a little bit better about ourselves. Though I’m not going to say that “everyone is special in their own way,” or any of that positive thinking stuff, but I am going to let everyone know that the reason why most of these celebrities look as good as they do is because of plastic surgery.

Even the most famous A-Listers today have gone under the knife at one time or another. So that definitely counts as cheating. Therefore, this leaves us with an opportunity to blame other things, rather than our parents for not making us perfect beings. We could say that, it’s because they have more money, and time, and less important things to do other than looking great. But keep in mind, that , today, some procedures are a lot more affordable.

Anyway, here’s a list of all the actresses *ahem* cheaters!:

Victoria Beckham:
Her face may still be pristine, but her breasts have definitely received an overhaul. She went from a training bra to Mr. Beckham’s fanta-C’s.

Ashlee Simpson:
The popstar apparently had a little work done to her nose. Moving from being a bad singer with a huge nose, now she’s just a bad singer. It’s too bad there’s no medical breakthrough yet for vocal cord augmentation.

Fergie:
It looks like this Fergilicious diva has undergone an osteotomy, or in other words, a nose job. It seems that a doctor broke her nose on purpose in order the make the thing smaller. Too bad she still looks like a man, but with a hot female body.

Winona Ryder:
If you haven’t noticed by now, it appears that celebrities are mostly concerned about their noses taking up all the space as they smile for a close up. Winona looked fine even without plastic surgery, but I guess she or her agents didn’t think so…poor thing.

Halle Berry:
Again, the nose. But out of all the celebs on this list, hers is the most unnoticeable–she could have used makeup to cover that up. I don’t know, it may have been the lighting. Rest assured, however, that the rest of her vainglorious bodice is all natural.

Marilyn Monroe:
Maybe the most questionable of the lot, the bombshell queen has reportedly gone through plastic surgery a number of times. I don’t know how they did it during the forties and fifties, but it must have primitive if compared to today’s standards.

Demi Moore:
Last but not least, the grandmother of all celebrities who has hired the help of a doctor to make them look gorgeous is none other than Demi Moore. Reports say that she has spent over $200,000 on plastic surgery alone–good lord! that’s a really nice car or a decent house already. However, judging from her nose, breasts, legs, and practically everything, I bet that $200,000 was merely a humble estimate.

Usually, it’s interesting to see Hollywood celebrities acquire an insane amount of money –just when they’ve been casted as the next big thing–only to spend it all with a vengeance. They throw parties, buy a few kilos of coke here and there, get a humungous house complete with flashy cars that never seem to travel as far their driveway, and sooner than we realize they’re selling us useless crap on TV and singing the National Anthem on rodeos and county fairs.

But what about those few celebrities who have a little more than just a pretty face on their shoulders? They are, in most cases, the ones who are aware that whatever can be counted can eventually be counted down to zero, nada, kaput. With a little practicality and business sense, some celebrities have managed to turn their endless pool of money into two endless pools of money–one is from how they became successful, and the other one is through entrepreneurship.

Here are some of the notable ones:

Magic Johnston

Back in 1992, Mr. Johnston treaded where business men didn’t dare go, the inner cities such as Harlem and South Central L.A. With an uncanny sense of marketing, coupled with his “magic” charisma, he successfully tapped into an $85 billion market that most people never even thought existed. He brought in franchises such as Loews Theaters, T.G.I. Fridays, and Starbucks. However, his company, The Magic Johnston Foundation, wasn’t just in it for the big bucks. Since he started, the former basketball player has donated a hefty sum to the HIV/AIDS care and prevention, and has also put 215 scholars through school.

Francis Ford Coppola

No, he didn’t follow in the footsteps of his film characters like Don Corleone. Instead, he looked to wine, coffee, pasta, and resorts to go to the mattresses when it came to money. His winery down at Napa makes an astounding $56 million annually, while also making a few extra greens on the side with his two cafes (Cafe Niebaum-Coppola), Mammarella pasta sauces, his resorts at Belize and Guatemala, and his production studio called American Zoetrope.

Sean “Puffy” Combs

“I’m not just poppin’ Cristal and throwing parties,” says P. Diddy, or Puff Daddy, or whatever it is he calls himself now. (Maybe he should ask Prince for some advice). He may have taken a backseat at the music industry nowadays, leaving us with his past original hits like “Uh-Huh,” “Yeah,” and “Oh,”–backtracking does not constitute original music– to reminisce about, but he sure does have a bit of know how when it comes to making Benjamins. With his company, Bad Boy Worldwide, he has built a $300 million conglomerate through entertainment, fashion, marketing, and food. But Mr. Combs sure does spread the love, as he funds housing projects (Daddy’s House Social Programs), and has donated $1 million to his Alma Matter, Howard University.

Sammy Hagar

If rock stars know one thing then its booze, sex, and drugs–don’t worry, it’s all one and the same to them. But as for Van Halen superstar Sammy Hagar, he might have had enough of his share of sex, and I’m not saying that he ever did drugs, so he’s turned to the last legal way to get hammered to make some extra cash. And that’s quite a lot of extra cash he’s making. With his Cabo Wabo Enterprise, Mr. Hagar has his own brand of tequila and is now considering to sell 80% of his company’s interests to Skyy Spirits for a whopping $80 million.

Jennifer Lopez

If there’s one thought to keep when venturing into a business, it’s starting a business that suits your interests. Not only will you most likely succeed, because you’ll pretty much have an idea about the ins and outs of what you’re getting into, you’ll also end up liking what you’re doing. J-Lo’s Sweet Fashion certainly reflects the actress/musician’s fashion sense, which she has shown time and again in her movies and music videos. With numerous boutiques open throughout the globe (in the U.S., Russia, and South America) this hotter than salsa Latina shows that she definitely knows how to capitalize beyond her rather caudal extremities.

With Project Runway just starting its fifth season, and the 11th cycle of America’s Next Top Model on the way, reality shows are attracting more and more contestants from all across the the country are flocking to get spots on any show just to follow the path of fame led by past winners. Even blockbuster stars develop reality shows of their own because they know that the market on reality tv is tremendously wide and ubiquitous. To save time, money and five days worth of effort from all the long lines and editing video submissions, here are some of the most important reality tv casting secrets:

How do reality shows cast their host?

If you’re up for a reality hosting job, here are some things you should remember: you should be exciting and keeping the control of the game should be your best asset. Being witty and funny is also a big plus, and the producers are most likely to hire someone who’s likeable by the masses and easy to approach.  Ryan Seacrest is a good example, or Jeff Probst from Survivor.

What do reality TV producers look for when casting a show?

When producers are finding people for shows, some values may differ. It is usually balanced and contrasting, like a contest show, or a reality in a house, or a social experiment-type show. They’re usually looking for personalities that will in some ways conflict with each other. You always want to find that odd couple, the republican vs. the democrat, the vegan vs. the carnivore, The bisexual vs. the conservative, the dovoted christian widow vs. the atheist single father, the healthy doctor vs. the fat alcoholic. This is how ratings are generated, just think of Big Brother House.

What do producers look for when casting reality game shows?

When producers are casting for the contestants, they’re looking for those giddy and enthusiastic people, people who are willing to dedicate a portion of their lives in winning, and people who might be devastated when they lose. Producers are looking for people with instant emotions. Some gameshows are looking for very smart people, like Jeopardy, some game shows are looking for just out of their mind, jump around people like Deal or No Deal - it depends when casting contestants.

How much information do reality show producers give their cast?

This depends on the show. Some shows have been very, very, deceptive, and have even given false descriptions of the show that you think you’re being cast for, and then it turns out it’s something else. That doesn’t happen as much anymore, and people are much more savvy about it. There may have been some legal cases, but it doesn’t happen as much anymore, that people are cast under false pretenses. It is possible, though, that they won’t tell you very much. And it is usually because they’re trying to protect the surprise factor, which is a big part of the entertainment. If you knew everything about the show going in, it’s less entertaining to watch you discover what’s going on. A big part of reality television is surprising the cast with the next challenge, or a plot twist of some sort. For example, the tribes are going to merge, but nobody knows when. The less the cast knows in general, the better for the producers and for the audience.

How do reality show producers keep a series unpredictable?

Often, if you’re going for a second season of a show, you can be quite sure you know pretty well what the show is. We always try to throw in some kind of twists and turns, even in second, third and fourth seasons of shows. But in general if you’ve seen it on TV and it was successful, they’re trying to do the same show to feed the same audience, so it’s not going to change drastically.

What are the biggest mistakes people make when auditioning for reality shows?

The worst crime when auditioning to be on a reality show is to be boring, to be flat, to be unenergetic, to be unopinionated, and to conceal your true feelings. All producers are really looking for, usually, is someone who is open and vocal about how they feel, what they think, who they like, who they don’t like, what they like to do, what makes them great, or why they’re not so great. You need somebody who verbalizes and emotes who they are and what they think - that’s the best thing. The worst crime is to go into an audition and hide yourself in any way and say “Oh I dont want to tell you that” or “Oh, you’re not going to get me to say that about them” or anything like that - then it’s no fun. In that case, you’re just no fun for TV.

Can being cast on a reality show lead to stardom in other areas?

Being cast on a reality show is a possible stepping stone. It really is up to you how you use fame; it’s entirely possible that if you get on a popular reality show, you will become a famous person. Many American Idol finalists have parlayed fame into recording contracts and film roles. What you do with that fame, is completely up to you. It will open doors and present opportunities; you will meet people in the entertainment business. You will have the chance to have people come to you and want to represent you, or want you for their ad or a cameo in a movie, or maybe a recording contract. Reality show stars who have extended their 15 minutes of fame include Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Evan Marriott and Omarosa. Don’t forget Kim Kardashian, Carrie Underwood and Flava Flav. It’s not easy, but at least it’s a leg up on everybody else who’s not famous. But, it is in no way a guarantee of great, amazing fame and fortune. You could be a very famous popular reality television show character and never get any financial benefit from it if you don’t use it in some way, if you don’t figure out how to use that fame to your best advantage.

Do reality show cast members get paid?

People get paid to do reality shows, but nobody - no contestant - is doing it, probably, for the money. It’s usually only a hundred or two hundred for the day. You may be taking a chance at winning a big prize, which might be a draw for you to do it. And you will be paid for every day that you do it, but it’s not very much. It’s just kind of to make up for the fact that you probably left your job, or whatever.

Everybody knew that overly-anticipated movie The Dark Knight will hit it pretty big, but not all of us predicted that it’ll be the biggest box office opening in history. The movie made $155.34 M, more than the $151.1 M made by Spiderman 3. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and the rest of the magnificent ensemble sure are characters that will be remembered for a long, long period of time. It is truly a historical affair, the movie breaking 8 box office records all at once. Here is a list of all the records broken by the Caped Crusader and The Joker:

1- Largest number of opening theatres with 4,366 (more than the 4,362 debut theatres of Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End in 2007)
2- Biggest midnight preview gross with $18,489 million in 3,040 theatres (beats Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and its $16,9 million in 2,915 theatres in 2005).
3- Biggest IMAX midnight previews with $640,000 (included in the $18,489 million preview number).
4- Biggest single-day gross in box office history with $67,850 million (beats the $ 59,841,919 set by Spiderman 3 in 2007).
5- Biggest opening weekend gross in box office history with $155,340 million (beats the $151,116 million set by Spiderman 3 in 1007).
6- Biggest opening weekend gross for an IMAX release in box office historyn with $6,214,061 million in 94 theaters with $66,107 per theatre (beats the $4.7 million set by Spiderman 3 in 2007).
7- Biggest opening weekend of 2008 with $151,340 (beats Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s $101.137 million from May 23-25, 2008)
8- Biggest July opening ever (beats Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest’s $135,l654,554 on July 7, 2006)

Though it may be hard to realize, there are still other movies to watch but the results are evident that everyone just wanted to see The Dark Knight and nothing else. Meryl Streep’s musical Mamma Mia came in a humiliating far-fetched second place with $27.6 M and Will Smith’s Hancock keeping it’s blockbuster streak for its second week with $14 M. Brendan Fraser’s adventure flick Journey to the Center of the Earth grosses at $11.9 M, while Hellboy’s sequel make a disappointing $10 M. Here is a list of this weekend’s box office top 10:

1. “The Dark Knight,” $155.34 million.

2. “Mamma Mia!”, $27.6 million.

3. “Hancock,” $14 million.

4. “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” $11.9 million.

5. “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” $10 million.

6. “WALL-E,” $9.8 million.

7. “Space Chimps,” $7.4 million.

8. “Wanted,” $5.1 million.

9. “Get Smart,” $4.1 million.

10. “Kung Fu Panda,” $1.8 million.