Monday, December 12, 2011

Crunch

Obviously, economic nervousness has hit Hollywood! Get out the accountants and the hatchet men! Crunch numbers! Crunch stars! Screw talent and popularity, let's get to the nitty-gritty that has always been the almighty dollar, because making movies in America is a business, after all.

Says the Huffington Post: "Though we may want to believe that not much time has passed since the days of 'Never Been Kissed,' in terms of Drew Barrymore, it's more like eons." Ouch!

"After a bunch of box-office flops, Barrymore has now swapped her title of America's Sweetheart for a much uglier one: The Most Overpaid Actor in Hollywood."

Forbes compiled a list of the 40 highest-paid stars in Tinseltown and how much money their movies have brought in over the last three years. They added up production budgets, and divided that by the star's pay, to come up with their "return on investment." That's how much money the studio made versus its star's salary.

Sounds like a lot of desperate number crunching and some labeling of "box-office poison," as a direct result, to me.

Barrymore emerged the Biggest Loser (and not in a good way). She returned 40 cents on every dollar she earned. Double ouch! I'm sure her agent is taking antacid tablets right now. Does this mean Drew's movies on dvd are immediately going into WalMart's bargain bin?

Directly behind Barrymore is upcoming Oscar host, Eddie Murphy, who brings in $2.70 on every dollar, followed by Will Ferrell ($3.50), Reese Witherspoon ($3.55), Denzel Washington ($4.25), Nicolas Cage ($4.40), Adam Sandler ($5.20), Vince Vaughn ($5.20), Tom Cruise ($6.35) and his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman ($6.70). You may soon be able to rent them as guests for your cocktail parties.

Drew received an Emmy nomination for her HBO tv-movie, Grey Gardens last year (holding her own against Emmy-winner Jessica Lange), her portrayal of the junior Edie Beale being nothing shy of remarkable. Is Hollywood now to hire actors strictly on the basis of box-office receipts rather than talent? Please feel free to share your views.

2 comments:

  1. I can't believe Drew is the biggest loser. Jennifer Aniston ought to be high on that list by now. FYI, Eddie Murphy bowed out of this year's Oscars after the director (the one who made that gay slur) bowed out. Billy Crystal will be back.

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  2. I am not surprised Eddie Murphy sided with a homophobic director rather than support the gay community, especially at this point in time and in his career. That makes him a double Loser. Good riddance to mediocre rubbish, I always say! As for J-An, I agree with you. And what about Sarah Jessica Parker? She's a "parker," all right! Parked her career and can't get it back into "Drive." How many duds can these babes get away with? So, Drew B as box-office poison? Puh-leeze!

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