CELEBRITY WATCH
Listen to "Celebrity Watch" from CNN Radio's Ken Pauli Real Audio: 28k

From staff and wire reports

Today's buzz stories:

• Bush impersonator hits jackpot with election
• Critics not tempted by Fox's 'Temptation Island'
• Dick Clark pulls in record New Year's Eve audience
• Film critics honor 'Yi-Yi'

Bush impersonator hits jackpot with election

Will Ferrell as George W. Bush on "Saturday Night Live"

PASADENA, California -- Comedian Will Ferrell is eternally grateful to the Florida voters.

Ferrell has played President-elect George W. Bush in a series of skits on "Saturday Night Live." With Bush in the White House, Ferrell has a guaranteed job for the next four years.

"Let's just put it this way," Ferrell said. "I just put a down payment on a boat."

Comedian Darrell Hammond, who plays Al Gore in skits alongside Ferrell, wasn't so lucky.

Critics not tempted by Fox's 'Temptation Island'

PASADENA, California -- What do you get when you maroon four unmarried couples on an island with 26 scantily clad singles? Not sex, insists the Fox network.

"Temptation Island," the network's new reality series which debuts Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST, "is a show that is exploring the dynamics of serious relationships," says Sandy Grushow, the head of Fox Television. Even so, participants were screened for sexually transmitted diseases.

Conservative and religious groups were up in arms over the series after seeing the show's promos. The American Family Association is urging followers to boycott the show, and a Dallas, Texas, rabbi has asked his local TV station not to air it.

"The producers of 'Temptation Island' should be ashamed of themselves for trying to force the destruction of four relationships for the entertainment purposes of those low-lifes who consent to watch this trash," said Brent Bozell, founder of the Parents Television Council.

Dick Clark pulls in record New Year's Eve audience

HOLLYWOOD, California -- New Year's Eve may be over, but Dick Clark has good reason to start popping the champagne again. ABC's 2000 edition of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" averaged 23.2 million viewers, the largest audience in the show's 29-year history.

According to Nielsen numbers issued Friday, the show beat by more than 4 million viewers anything that aired in prime time during the week of December 25-31.

Among the musical acts that performed on the show were Boyz II Men, 98 Degrees and Third Eye Blind.

Film critics honor 'Yi-Yi'

NEW YORK -- The film "Yi-Yi," Edward Yang's family drama set in Taiwan, was named the year's best picture by the National Society of Film Critics over the weekend.

The 35-year-old organization, chaired by New York magazine critic Peter Rainer and composed of 51 critics from around the country, gave "Yi-Yi" nearly twice the number of votes it gave the runner-up, Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic."

"You Can Count on Me" took two awards on Saturday -- best actress for Laura Linney and best screenplay for Kenneth Lonergan. Benicio Del Toro was named best supporting actor for "Traffic," and Soderbergh won best director for "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich."

Friday: 'The Weber Show' cursed after all
Thursday: Grammys get invited back to Gotham
Wednesday: Spielberg reins in plans for equestrian facility
Tuesday: Actress Kate Hudson marries rocker Chris Robinson
Monday: Blue's Clues' Steve turns in green striped shirt