Cover Story

Pop culture magazines get a large portion of their sales from newsstand purchases. We're talking impulse buys. Thus putting hot celebrities on the cover is standard practice. Maybe you've gotten tired of seeing Brad and Jen and Angelina's faces, but the public hasn't (yet).

That's why I have to admire the nerve of Entertainment Weekly. This week's cover features Terrence Howard. Who? Exactly.

EW is calling him the summer's #1 breakout. He must have a good publicist. While he was impressive in Hustle & Flow, and the film did good business for a festival hit, it hardly crossed over into the big money, and he's far from a household name.

My prediction: the Terrence Howard cover will be EW's worst-selling issue this year, certainly in the bottom five.