There’s something provocative about movie stars falling in love while making a movie. What follows is a list of cuddly movie co-stars, some contemporary, some from days of yore.

You may wonder why Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson or Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward or Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh didn’t make the list. It’s because Cupid struck them during the production of a stageplay, not a movie. After all, we aim for total accuracy.

And now, the list, beginning with some golden oldies:

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Bad luck and poor choices are a big part of Hollywood lore. Careers have been made or broken based on an actor’s inability to look at a part and envision the possibilities, or by scheduling issues that prevented a thespian from taking on a juicy role.

Some films would have been quite different had the original choice not declined, been forced out by a prior commitment, or fallen victim to a director’s change of heart.

Of course, one performer’s misfortune is another’s opportunity. Forbes has put together a list of “10 Career-Changing Roles That Almost Weren’t.” It’s some interesting stuff, to say the least.

Here are some famous films, and the actor or actress who turned down or didn’t get the chance to shine:

1. Titanic: Gwyneth Paltrow

2. Knocked Up: Anne Hathaway

3. The Godfather: Ernest Borgnine

4. Forrest Gump: John Travolta

5. Pretty Woman: Molly Ringwald

6. The Reader: Nicole Kidman

7. The Graduate: Robert Redford

8. Brokeback Mountain: Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix

9. Casablanca: George Raft

10. Raiders of the Lost Ark: Tom Selleck

To read more about these matchups that didn’t happen, and to see a slideshow, visit Forbes.

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As we turned the calendar to 2009, People magazine took a look back at which celebrities made the most successful visits to the clothes closet in 2008. It’s a list not to be missed, so here goes:

1. Kate Hudson

2. Rihanna

3. Gwyneth Paltrow

4. Fergie

5. Anne Hathaway

6. Heidi Klum

7. Sarah Jessica Parker

8. Michelle Obama

9. Eva Mendes

10. Charlize Theron

Disappointed you didn’t make it? We were, too, but so it goes.

To read more about the winners, and to see a slideshow, visit People.

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Their new arrivals are christened Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon. You can bet that even the most intimate chums won’t lean over the crib and say, “Hi, Viv!,” particularly with the French spelling. Marcheline was the name of Angelina’s mother, who died in January 2007 after a long battle with ovarian cancer.

Knox Leon (Leon pronounced with a long “o”) was so named because dad Brad is a fan of artist Archibald Knox and has collected several of the late artist’s works. The day after Angelina gave birth, the Archibald Knox Web site reportedly received over 2,000 hits.

Celebrities are different from us ordinary mortals. Among those differences is their practice of giving offspring unusual names. What follows is a list of celebrity baby names, and there’s not a Dick or Jane among them.

Matthew McConaughey’s new arrival is Levi, but he’s not named for the jeans that Matthew occasionally bothers to put on. The spiritual star explains that Levi is another name for the Biblical apostle Matthew. Early tabloid reports predicted that the bouncing baby boy would be named Budweiser, after his pop’s favorite beer. After all, Matthew’s big brother Rooster named his son Miller Lyte.

Julia Roberts named her twins Hazel and Phinnaeus. Nothing wrong with Hazel other than its vintage seems to be several generations ago. But Phinnaeus??? It’s a family name, says Julia. But try explaining that to the kids at school.

Also on the previous-generations name register is Matilda, daughter of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams. Possibly she was named for the Aussie folk song “Waltzing Matilda.” FYI, Jake Gyllenhaal was her godfather.