comment #1

EnglishBob says ...

"Number nine.....number nine....number nine.....number nine..."

comment #2

Alvy Singer says ...

It's not science, but you could say that a star's true power is getting people to see a crappy movie. Let's face it, if somebody pays to see Land of the Lost or Semi-Pro, it's because they want to see Will Ferrel. Those films didn't do well, but whatever millions they did make should be attributed to the star's ability to bring in fans. Because it sure wasn't a quality script, special effects, whatever.

Shia LeBouf, on the other hand is just a cog. He's a talented guy, but nobody is paying to see Indiana Jones or Transformers to see his special brand of moxie.

comment #3

Rich S. says ...

It's too bad Ferrell didn't charge for those Pearl shorts he released a year or two ago. If he had, he might well be considered the biggest bargain in Hollywood right now. The landlady short is the funniest comedy I've seen in the last decade.

comment #4

kamichojin says ...

Not being a Beatles person, this is the 1st thing I thought of when I read the post title:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtgY3aho_wk

"I buried Flanders"
-H. Simpson

comment #5

Sabina E says ...

Will Ferrell is definitely overpaid... and overrated.

comment #6

Mark says ...

Shia is definitely more than a cog RE box office. I'd bet that he would have opened Body of Lies to a lot more than $13M.

If i had $20M to spend on casting, I'd split it between Shia, Meryll Streep, and Kevin James. I just need a plot now. (And Ewan McGregor will definitely not be involved.)

comment #7

cm65 says ...

The Forbes list has one actor per page, with a big arrow on the right, marked 'Next'.

comment #8

Eloi Manning says ...

Shia did alright with Eagle Eye, didn't he?

Fuck me, that was a weird film. The opening half an hour was great. Then I don't even know what the fuck happened after that. It turned into some sci-fi dogshit. I can barely remember it now.

comment #9

SmilingPolitely says ...

Yeah, don't underestimate The Beef. Certainly no straight male is seeing Tranformers, Indy, Eagle Eye, etc. for Labeouf. But with young women, it's a different story. That guy can get chicks wet.

comment #10

Gaydos says ...

There are always people who want to run Hollywood like it's a packaged goods business. Coca-Cola tried and today's toy tie-in studio moguls are certainly giving it a good shot, ie making movies about as interesting as a six pack of soda pop. But if the studio moguls love to make franchise movies where the actors are unimportant and the "brand" or "franchise" is the star, let's be consistent. No credit to Shia for acting in the Baybusters, no demerit to Will for trying something interesting like "Stranger Than Fiction."

And don't get me started on how pathetically anti-creativity this is. Things are bad enough in these times when nothing that is not derived from a Tonka Toy or a comic book gets the studio chiefs' hearts a flutter. I will pray to "Baby Jesus" that this is all just a fad.

comment #11

QualityGibberish says ...

"You pay now! I got to get my drink on."

comment #12

Colin says ...

The list is based on the past 3 films each actor did, how fair is that? DiCaprio won't be anywhere near that list next year.

These list are idiotic anyway.

comment #13

Floyd Thursby says ...

McGregor is the 21st century equivalent of Pat O'Brien, Van Johnson, and Glen Ford. He must have some agent.

comment #14

TL says ...

Eddie Murphy and Jim Carey are done as mega-salary stars. Tom Cruise will always be one movie away from a comeback. Will Farrell is back the next time he makes a "[Oddball Profession] : The [Legend/Story/Saga/Epic/Tale/Ballad/etc.] of [Goofy Proper Name]" movie. Drew Barrymore is going to work more and more behind the camera.

Billy Bob Thornton, Ewan McGreggor, and Leonardo Di Caprio are just laughing all the way to the bank that they've been able to command mega salaries to begin with; they'll work for less because acting is just what they do. (Except maybe Thornton; he might just kick it with his band.)

comment #15

TL says ...

Oh, and also, fuck Jim Carrey for all the kids who are going to get sick or die because he and his girlfriend think they're smarter than doctors.

comment #16

Eloi Manning says ...

Will Ferrell's problem is that he seems to enjoy screaming far more than his fans do. If you look at his most popular characters/impersonations - Ron Burgundy, Alex Trebek, James Lipton, George Bush - they're all fairly restrained and the humour comes from what they say rather than how loud they deliver it. Burgundy had a few loud outbursts but on the whole the enduring popularity comes from the wit and the quotable lines.

All his less popular movies have the bellowing manchild version of Ferrell.

comment #17

drbob says ...

Jenny McCarthy thinks she's smarter than doctors. Jim Carrey just wants to keep getting laid.

comment #18

Terry McCarty says ...

Re TL's post:
If I were Will Ferrell, I'd get the ANCHORMAN sequel going as fast as possible. Unless Will's waiting to see how the buddy-cop comedy he's doing now fares at the box office.

comment #19

lazarus says ...

While McGregor certainly has been in a lot of poor-performing films and made some questionable choices, I'm not sure why everyone gangs up on him. Guy was fantastic in Down With Love, Moulin Rouge, and he certainly brought his A-Game in the final Star Wars film (and about half of Clones). He also did a very good job in Cassandra's Dream and Young Adam. That's just this decade.

He's far from consistent, but there are certainly actors with worse track records. And at least he has some versatility.

comment #20

jodygreeneyes says ...

Is that Heidi Klum? Is this from a film? Damn if it is Heidi, then WOW!

comment #21

dinther says ...

The logic behind these statistics seems a bit specious. It corrolates the appearance of an actor directly to a film's performance and leaves out other significant factors, post hoc ergo propter hoc. Was it marketed? Were there other reasons to watch/not watch the film (e.g., a toy-tie in movie)?

Giving credit to LeBeouf for the success of Transformers is like crediting Joe Biden for President Obama's election victory. He was there, sure, but he wasn't the drawing card.

comment #22

Rich S. says ...

Jody, the photo is from a promo spread Sports Illustrated did with Will and Heidi when Semi Pro came out. Do a quick search, there's a lot more photos out there. And yes, Heidi looks good in every one of them.

comment #23

solus says ...

I think it is giving actors a little too much credit for the success or failure of a film. Is that the point of this list? to bring that into focus. A film does not have to "land" a major actor to be a success, it just tends to put the budget higher and the break even point subsequently higher as well.

comment #24

corey3rd says ...

Didn't Jeff Goldblume dominate this a decade ago?

comment #25

Mark says ...

The fact that Ewan McGregor has previously done strong work is the reason that we now must criticize. Not the other way around. We want him back; not the pod replacement that slept through Angels, Demons, and Goats.

comment #26

George Prager says ...

Quaid OWNS in WYATT EARP!!!!!!!

comment #27

polarbear says ...

So Ferrel, Murphy, and Carrey are done for. Its no big deal. Comedians have a shorter shelf life than most movie actors. Senses of humor change over time. Even Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers had to ditch their film careers at some point.

This Forbes study is ridiculously un-scientific. Being in a big hit can help an actor's career, but no way in hell does it mean they can take credit for it. This is where actors like Sandra Bullock do well. She rarely appears in blockbuster hits. However since her movies aren't classic comic-book adaptations, video-game franchises, or sfx extravaganzas; and she never acts opposite a leading man who's a bigger draw than she is; she can plausibly take credit for every ticket sold to her bargain budget movies.

comment #28

DeeZee says ...

I'm surprised Will Smith was considered overpaid, because other than Wild Wild West, and maybe Bagger Vance, I can't think of any real bombs he's had lately. As for LaBeouf, he's only been in two movies not based on well-known franchises[Correction. Three if I count Charlie's Angels 2; but that was probably a brief appearance.] ; and those were released in-between TF and TF 2. Not to mention that there's any guarantee that Disturbia and Eagle Eye couldn't have made money without him. That Hayden X-Men wannabe thing did alright, too, after all. So he might encounter a similar cold reception to Wall Street 2 as Fox did with Jennifer's Body.

"Wait...Dennis Quaid?"

Probably best earner for what he's paid.

Mark: You're just saying that now, but wait until Wall Street 2 and the inevitable casting of him as the lead in the Metal Gear Solid movie[kidding, I hope.] before confirming it.

Smiling: "But with young women, it's a different story. That guy can get chicks wet."

I thought girls are just dragged to TF by their geek boyfriends the way guys are dragged to see Twilight and Titanic.

Colin: Shutter Island finally looks like a good Leo pic, but the marketing appears to be banking too much on him, and not the horror aspect.

TL: I thought Murphy was done, too, but the guy made bank on Norbit. He'll have to go through a few more "My Name is Dave"-like bombs to be declared over. Hopefully, Shrek 4 will be the beginning of it all. Carrey did still probably make money on that Seuss cartoon; and X-mas Carol would've done worse without him. So he's still hanging, too.

Will agree with you on the vaccination thing, though. I mean, seriously, how the fuck does anyone consider a poor woman's Pamela Anderson like Jenny McCarthy an expert on anything, when dating Carrey is probably as high up the ladder she'll get in the biz.

corey: That was before Jurassic Park 2.

comment #29

Gordon27 says ...

"It corrolates the appearance of an actor directly to a film's performance and leaves out other significant factors, post hoc ergo propter hoc."

But, being fair to this list, actor's salaries do the same thing when a movie they're in is successful.

comment #30

cinefan says ...

It's ridiculous to call Will Smith overpaid, considering that he just recently broke Tom Hanks' record of most consecutive films earning over $100 mil at the domestic box office.

comment #31

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

Shia Lebeouf's a star if he's starring in somebody else's 30-year-old franchise. So where does that lead him-- Grandson of the Pink Panther? An Adam-12 movie? It's not exactly a recipe for a long and varied career. He's the Bud Cort of our time.