Fall Preview

Who: Josh Hartnett, 26 Where You'll Be Seeing Him: Obsessing over a mysterious woman in Wicker Park (September 3). Why We're Crushing on Him: Maybe it's because he continued to date his childhood sweetheart for years after he became famous. Or it could be because he still lives in his home state of Minnesota. Either way, we love that Josh Hartnett comes off as more of a sweet hometown boy than the Hollywood babe magnet he actually is. "[Fame] can change a lot of stuff, but it doesn't have to change what I want to be and who I am," Josh told the New York Daily News. Look for Josh this fall in Wicker Park, a romantic thriller in which he stars as a young Chicago banker who participates in a scavenger hunt of sorts to find the woman he fell in love with and lost.
	Who: Gael García Bernal, 26 Where You'll See Him: Biking all over Latin America in The Motorcycle Diaries (September 24). Why We're Crushing on Him: This former Mexican soap star is so easy on the eyes that he could easily seal his heartthrob status with big roles in major blockbusters. He's that hot and that talented. Instead he takes the high road with meatier characters in independent movies like Amores perros and Y tu mamá también (And Your Mother Too). "I don't do things because I want to reach sex symbol status. I choose roles that I like and that I feel need to be told," Gael has said in the past. So what's the next story that needs to be told? Che Guevara's. Gael brings the Cuban revolutionary's boyhood memoirs to life in The Motorcycle Diaries, a coming-of-age movie that chronicles Guevara's road trip through Latin America with his best friend, Alberto Granado, before Che became a political militant.
	Who: Nelly, 28 Where You'll Be Seeing Him: Promoting his new albums, Sweat and Suit (September 14), playing football alongside Adam Sandler in the Longest Yard, and sitting courtside at Charlotte Bobcats games (basically just about everywhere). Why We're Crushing on Him: The rapper also known as Cornell Haynes Jr. is clearly taking the art of multitasking to a whole new level. He's the proud part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team; he's about to release not one, but two albums; and he's filming a football flick with Adam Sandler. Yet he still finds time to run his clothing line, Apple Bottoms, and market his own energy drink, Pimp Juice. Sounds like Nelly's got everything, right? Wrong. The rapper is still single. "Most women can't handle my busy schedule, so my career has to be my girlfriend," he told us last year. But all hope of snagging him isn't lost. Nelly is looking for a nice "regular girl — the cutie working the counter at McDonald's or the girl at the mall."
	Who: Good Charlotte Where You'll Be Seeing Them: Rocking out on their new album, The Chronicles of Life and Death (October 5). Why We're Crushing on Them: The guys have been making teen angst anthems for two solid albums now. The third one, The Chronicles of Life and Death, kicks it up a notch, so they're talking about more than how dumb high school is and how they just want to stand out from the crowd. This time around the guys show their vulnerable side in their new single "Predictable": Joel Madden cries, "Every time I try to fall in love, they all wanna know why I'm so f---- up." The video for the song is a dark take on the Johnny Depp classic Edward Scissorhands. The guys aren't out to depress you, though. As Benji Madden told MTV, the band is still in touch with their positive side. "There are definitely some fun moments, too. The main message of our band is hope, and a running theme in this record, too, is hope."

— Kenya Hunt
Photo: Catherine Mouttet