Fame where fame is due

Zoe Saldana
Hollywood being Hollywood, you knew that by the end of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow would sail away while Orlando Bloom hooked up with Keira Knightley's Elizabeth.  But for just a moment, didn't you want to see him pair up with Zoe Saldana's Anamaria? She was, after all, the one pirate who could tell Cap'n Jack where to stick his mainsail.

That seems to be a theme for Saldana. She's who I really want to watch, even if someone else gets the guy, or gets the ship, or gets to be Britney Spears. (A job's a job, but "Crossroads"? We haven't forgiven you either, Taryn Manning.)

Green Diamond Zoe Saldana co-stars with Milo Ventimiglia in “Dirty Deeds,” an “American Pie” knock-off that further extends Hollywood's endless streak of teen comedies. Does she win the guy in this one? Given what you see him do to a loaf of bread in the trailer, does she really want to?

Zoe's got time to figure out which path through Hollywood she wants to take.  She's already playing with big boys (doesn't much bigger than Steven Spielberg, who must have liked her enough to put her in “The Terminal”) and she's proven that she can play girly roles and tomboy roles and everything in between. She can even survive a dud like “Guess Who” without her feet turning to lead.

Now needs to come the part where she wins a breakout role, something that makes her a compulsory add on the late-night TV circuit and an endless source of romantic speculation. She's already got several new projects in the works, and I promise, I'll be watching.

Just one thing: Don't make me sit through another Ashton Kutcher movie.

Ever.

MSNBC.com lifestyle editor Jon Bonné still has a framed "Killing Zoe" poster on his wall at home.

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