Young Hollywood Gets Old Fast

25-04-2007 20:35

Hollywood loves its awards shows. But after watching last night's Hollywood Life Young Hollywood Awards shambles, I can't understand why anyone would choose to participate."It's like a high school talent show," one Young Hollywood Awards veteran says.Last night's shindig at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood marked the ninth annual event. But even so, things got off to a bumpy start when Hollywood Life owner, Anne Volokh, introduced host Justin Long...and he didn't appear. While she waited for the young actor to find the stage, Volokh rambled on with a convoluted story that didn't bode well for a smooth-running show. And when Long did show up, he took a sharp-tongued jab at Volokh, suggesting, I suppose, that she is definitely not a member of young Hollywood."Smells like formaldehyde," said Long, after embracing her.Volokh wasn't Long's only victim. When introducing award recipient Josh Henderson, he made a nasty remark I won't repeat about Henderson's new romance with Paris Hilton, and then took a cheap shot at the teenage American Idol wannabe Sanjaya.Thankfully, they got around to the actual awards presentation.

Some of the well-deserved recipients included Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Fanning, Ludacris, Katherine Heigl, Katharine McPhee, Dane Cook and Hairspray stars Zac Efron and Nikki Blonsky.

However, the ceremony was a hodgepodge of mismatched presenters and uninspired acceptance speeches.

An uncomfortable-looking Hilary Duff presented the Today's Superstar award to Ludacris.

Director John Singleton, while presenting to Tyrese Gibson, joked that he was looking forward to a fast-paced evening (how wrong he was) because that meant young Hollywood could get back to doing what it likes to do best: drink, take drugs and have sex.