People talk 042/4/03

Clarkson skyrockets to top of the charts

NEW YORK -- Kelly Clarkson didn't have to wait a lifetime to reach the top of the album chart -- she made it there in just one week.

The "American Idol" winner's first album, "Thankful," debuted at No. 1, selling more than 297,000 copies during its first week in stores, according to industry figures released Wednesday.

The album includes new mixes of "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your Love," the two songs Clarkson recorded after she won the Fox singing competition last year.

Rapper 50 Cent had two entries in the top five: "The New Breed," a three-song compact disc/DVD that sold 246,000 copies in its first week to reach the No. 2 spot, and "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," which came in fifth and has now sold more than 4.2 million copies.

Fleetwood Mac's first album of new material in 15 years, "Say You Will," debuted at No. 3, selling nearly 218,000 copies.

Last week's top album, Godsmack's "Faceless," dropped to No. 13, with about 110,000 copies sold.

Timberlake, Scott will co-host MTV awardsNEW YORK -- Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync and Seann William Scott of "Bulletproof Monk" and the "American Pie" movies will co-host the MTV Movie Awards.

The ceremony, which includes categories such as best villain and best kiss alongside best movie and best male and female performance, is set for May 31 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The 12th annual show is scheduled to air on MTV at 8 p.m. June 5.

"You could not ask for a more dynamic duo than Justin and Seann to help celebrate the year in movies," MTV president Van Toffler said Tuesday. "The MTV Movie Awards has always been about the twisted, unexpected moments and this year's show will no doubt provide our audience with a night of celebrity sloppiness and fun."

"Spider-Man" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" lead the nominations with five each. Viewers can vote for their favorites at MTV's Web site.

Ferrell achieves goals at Boston Marathon

BOSTON -- Will Ferrell, known for his antics on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," ran the Boston Marathon with his wife and achieved two goals: He finished in under four hours, and he beat the guy dressed as Elvis.

After saying at the start that he just wanted to finish, Ferrell did better than that with a time of 3 hours, 56 minutes, 12 seconds. The guy dressed as Elvis Presley -- actually, a friend of Ferrell's named Bob Babbitt -- came in at 4:28:33.

"It's truly an amazing event. Along with the history and everything, it's a bit of a blur," Ferrell said of Monday's race. "Heartbreak Hill felt like a lovely summer day ... and then you get hit over the head with a hammer."

There were no jokes along the route, reported 1968 marathon winner Amby Burfoot, who ran near the 35-year-old actor-comedian.

"He was completely serious," said Burfoot, who runs every fifth anniversary of his victory. "His coach had him on a short tether. They had something left at the end. It's great to see celebrities come into the race and treat it seriously."

Ferrell and his wife, Viveca, ran in the New York City Marathon in 2001, finishing together in 5 hours, 1 minute and 56 seconds.

-- From wire reports