Who needs sexy? In Hollywood these days, it is fast becoming apparent that wholesome and hardworking are truly what’s “hot.”
AOL’s film-oriented Web site Moviefone late on Wednesday unveiled a list of the 25 hottest movie stars under 25 years old, as picked by industry executives who valued work experience and future prospects over sex appeal and celebrity.
Listen up, Lindsay Lohan wannabes: It helped if you stayed out of trouble.
The list includes the popular stars of summer movie musical “Hairspray,” Zac Efron and Elijah Kelley, and Oscar-nominated actress Keira Knightley of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films. There are well-known stars like Scarlett Johansson and up-and-comers such as Ellen Page. “Superbad” super geeks Michael Cera and Jonah Hill made the list, too.
“We were trying to come up with a list that was fairly balanced and featured people leading the charge,” said Scott Robson, editor-in-chief of Moviefone. “What I really like is how diverse it is with a wide range of young talent, not just hot, young teen stars.”
Robson said Moviefone spoke with numerous Hollywood executives to create a broad list of talent, then narrowed the judges to a panel including actor Michael Douglas, director Jason Reitman (“Thank You for Smoking”) and producer Akiva Goldsman (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”). Altogether, the panel had 13 members choosing the final 25 “hot” actors and actresses.
“We were looking for (judges) who had valid insight and input into the industry,” Robson said.
Last year Lohan, now 21, was among the hottest young film talents around, following strong performances in Robert Altman film “A Prairie Home Companion” and Emilio Estevez’s “Bobby.”
But earlier this year, her hard-partying ways caused her to run afoul of the law and end up in rehab. Her two most recent movies, “Georgia Rule” and “I Know Who Killed Me,” flopped.
For now, Hollywood seems to have turned a cold shoulder to Lohan when it comes to must-hire movie actresses.
“We did canvas a lot of executives, and Lindsay Lohan was not a name that was bubbling up,” Robson said.
But Mischa Barton was. Robson said she made the list not because her former role on the hit television drama “The O.C.” made her a star. Rather, “she has eight films coming out over the next year and a half, and she’s drawing some really strong notices in the industry,” Robson said.