People: May 7, 2007

THE SCORE

GOOGLE NEWS HITS + GOOGLE BLOG HITS = THE SCORE

1

Rocker Sheryl Crow and An Inconvenient Truth producer Laurie David sparred over climate change with Karl Rove at a D.C. dinner. At one point, they claim, the Bush adviser snapped, “Don’t touch me.” Shocked at the unthinkable rebuff, the pair wrote on THE HUFFINGTON POST, “How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow?” SCORE: 2,795

2

Alec Baldwin says the voice mail of him yelling at his daughter was leaked by ex-wife Kim Basinger. (She denies it.) Whatever its provenance, the audio was helpfully transcribed by TMZ: “I don’t give a damn that you’re 12-years-old or 11-years-old, or a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass.” SCORE: 1,774

3

Oliver Stone will shoot an antiwar commercial for MoveOn.org Show-biz site HOLLYWOOD TODAY intones, “In a time where politics, media and democracy are inseparably intertwined, Stone, who has both the Hollywood and military credentials, can wield as much influence as elected statesmen.” SCORE: 719

4

The TV gods have trumped Rosie O’Donnell: she’s announced her resignation from The View, citing a contract dispute with ABC. Vocal O’Donnell basher Donald Trump, with whom the outspoken comedian has conducted a colorful public feud, shared a different theory with FOX NEWS: “Barbara [Walters] is the happiest person in the world that Rosie’s been fired.” SCORE: 578

5

Grey’s Anatomy star and disgraced utterer of homophobic slurs Isaiah Washington has manfully withdrawn his name from Emmy consideration. Gossip site DEFAMER is unmoved: “His time in gayhab obviously taught him an important lesson about transparent expressions of publicist-encouraged humility.” SCORE: 199

TIMELINE

Hulk not dead. Edward Norton play Hulk in new movie. Remember Primal Fear? Fight Club? He kind of Hulky in those. Here Hulk history:

MARVEL COMICS: Created in 1962 by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby (and originally tinted gray), the Hulk is nuclear scientist Bruce Banner, whose gamma-ray experiments accidentally unlock the rage-driven monster within him.

BILL BIXBY played Banner from 1977 to 1982, in a TV movie and subsequent series. His alter ego was embodied by muscleman Lou Ferrigno. Bixby, mild but coiled, was the first to speak the signature line “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

ERIC BANA played Banner in Ang Lee’s poorly received 2003 film. Overshadowed by his massive, computer-generated Hulk persona, Bana didn’t attract many fans. Will Norton fare better in what Marvel calls a “do-over”? Don’t answer; you might make him angry.