This week, online entertainment enthusiasts saw plenty of engaging industry reveals as well as few moments worthy of pause and reflection.
On Monday the week began on a somber note when breast-cancer victim "Elizabeth Edwards" hit the top of Google Trends. The wife of former democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced that she had stopped treatment for the disease which had spread to her liver.
Elizabeth passed away on Tuesday at her home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Americans immediately took to the web to express their support and admiration for the dynamic 61-year-old. After weathering her husband's very public cheating scandal, Elizabeth went on to write best-selling books and served as an advocate for healthcare reform throughout her battle with the disease.
On a lighter note, the entertainment press was buzzing about the box office success of Disney's Tangled. The film, a 3D reimagining of the tale of Rapunzel, took down Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, which had topped the charts for the two previous weeks. Google Realtime results for "Tangled" reveal that movie enthusiasts continue to chatter about the fairy tale on the web.
According to movie moguls, The Tourist, a new film released today starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, will not be much competition for Tangled. Blogs were buzzing about the film's failures, lambasting Depp and Jolie's non-existent chemistry. At press time the film had a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 16 percent.
However, fans of Depp still took to the net to get an eyeful of stills released by USA Today from the set of the next installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow will set sail again, this time alongside Penelope Cruz.
The world of radio and the online entertainment community were both rocked when Howard Stern announced that he would re-sign with Sirius Satellite Radio
"If we're going to stay in radio, we should stay here," the shock jock told The Detroit Free Press of his decision. "We're in an incredible position and suddenly there's real growth."
Sirius has reported that their sales have been "through the roof" since the announcement, according to TMZ.com.
Wednesday marked the thirtieth anniversary of John Lennon's death. Fans of the former Beatle gravitated toward the Imagine mosaic in New York City's Central Park to mark the occasion and Lennon lovers around the world perused the wide array of online tributes to the musician. Google Trends reveals that searches for "John Lennon" spiked on December 8. Among the most popular web tributes was a post that his widow, Yoko Ono, penned on her personal blog, ImaginePeace.com.
Another near-canonized rock figure who created a stir from beyond the grave this week was Jim Morrison. Web surfers clicked news about The Doors' frontman who was posthumously pardoned for indecent exposure and profanity 40 years after the charges were filed.
There was also some sad news for music industry: when it was rumored that soul singer Aretha Franklin had been diagnosed with cancer, fans searched the web to learn the details of her prognosis. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Franklin has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
In other entertainment news, "Wesley Snipes" garnered plenty of attention when he reported to federal prison yesterday. The star of films such as Blade and Brooklyn's Finest has begun serving a three-year sentence for failing to file tax returns.
So what will be trending next week? We're guessing that industry insiders will soon be revealing their top picks for Oscar nods and that details of Michael, a posthumous Michael Jackson album slated to drop on Tuesday, will compel web surfers to click.
