By Wonderwall.com Editors
12:35pm PST, Feb 4, 2009
Britney got it back together, LiLo found love and we stopped caring about Paris' latest conquest years ago. So is celeb news in a recession? We took stock of the stars we still find fascinating for these 15 best bets in the celebrity futures market.
The New Starlet – Even though Dakota Fanning seems to have grown up before our very eyes, we suspect she'll choose the child actor path less taken and blossom into a legitimate leading lady instead of Living Lohan.
The New Brando – Having already proven himself as an Oscar-nominated leading man, Joaquin Phoenix's recent decision to abandon acting for a rap career – joking or not – suggests the kind of awesome eccentricity we haven't seen since Marlon.
The New Madonna Complex – Look out, Miley Cyrus! Ever since Madge writhed into our psyche with "Like A Virgin", we've demanded that our pop princesses be pure and promiscuous at the same time, or else! But is that even possible? Just ask Britney.
The New Zip Code – Remake or not, 90210 will forever be stuck in the 90s. The true representative of today's youth are Gossip Girl's ragtag group of hedonistic, text-addicted, status-obsessed Upper East Siders. OMFG indeed.
The New Artist – Whether he's glowing in the dark, designing sneakers, blogging his heart out or releasing an R&B album out of nowhere, we haven't seen a musician as enigmatic or fascinating as Kanye since Prince was 'the artist formerly known as'.
The New Sex Symbol – Now that Angelina has abandoned her bad girl days for Brad and motherhood, Megan Fox has stepped into her stilettos sporting an updated version of the drop dead features and edgy attitude that first aroused our interest in Ange.
The New Hope – While the Bush years brought the rise of Paris and the fall of Anna Nicole, we think the Obama era means a cultural change in America where celeb sex tapes and rehab centers give way to talented people doing nice things. Well, we hope.
The New Brat Pack – Rumer Willis is leading the pack of famous offspring with their sights clearly set on reaching the same heights of stardom they saw their parents enjoy. But the million dollar question is: do they have the talent to measure up?
The New Baby Bumps – In the recent celeb baby boom, Suri Cruise, Shiloh Jolie-Pit and the rest of the "Baby Bumper" generation were literally famous before they were even born. Now they're toddlers, but the tabloids still aren't any less obsessed.
The New Renaissance Man – No one could ever replace Heath Ledger, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a similar ability to straddle edgier indie films and big blockbuster roles (he's playing Cobra Commander in this summer's GI Joe movie) with equal grace.
The New Bad Boy – After achieving blockbuster status as an approachable teen heartthrob, we foresee Shia struggling with fame and growing pains before emerging as an older, wiser, even more successful leading man. You know, like Robert Downey, Jr.
The New Wild Card – Whether he wins the Oscar or not, the comeback of Mickey Rourke could end up going a number of different ways. He's as talented and colorful as they come, but we're still not sure if he's housebroken.
The New Media Mogul – Love him or hate him, Perez Hilton is taking over the world one poorly-rendered MS Paint doodle at a time. As savvy as he is sassy, Perez has become a bona fide celeb in his own right, and has the growing empire to prove it.
The New New Kids – The Jonas Brothers are the next fresh-faced boy band to follow in the great American tradition of finding worldwide superstardom before manhood. And for every Justin there's a "that guy from 98 Degrees", so we'll see what happens.
