Chicks Rule
Their Weight in Gold?
The Hollywood Reporter has released its list of the highest-paid actresses with Oscar winner Reeser Witherspoon finding herself on top (hope it’s not too much of a blow to Ryan’s ego…). Reese gets $15-$20 million per picture. Angelina placed second, despite only netting $8 million for Beowulf, though that’s still a pretty hefty paycheck considering she was only in about two scenes. Following in order are Cameron Diaz ($15 mil per pic), Nicole Kidman (#2 last year), Renee Zellweger, Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts ($10-$15 mil per pic); Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster ($10-$12 mil), and Halle Berry ($10 mil).
Who do you think deserves it? They’re all good at what they do, but it’s hard to tell why there are so many bombs between them. Is it the lack of good scripts for women? Or that these women became so famous that they’re being paid for name recognition even if they don’t pull in money-paying fans? Zellweger had Bridget Jones and Chicago; Berry had X-Men, though that hardly counts considering she hardly had two lines total in all three films; Kidman had, well, I guess The Others, but that was a long time back; Bullock doesn’t star in smashes, but she almost always hits in the mid range, which isn’t bad considering she’s consistent; Reese had Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama; Barrymore, another consistent mid-ranger, though when paired with the right leading man (in a romantic comedy), she can hit it out of the ballpark; Roberts used to be a sure thing, but with taking so much time off to raise kids, it’s hard to tell how much of a draw she is anymore; Jolie really only has Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Diaz has had her hits, but has yet to carry a flick on her own; and Foster is probably the most consistent moneymaker of them all, The Brave One notwithstanding.
I think people get way to caught up in how much movies gross. Obviously, it’s very important. It is a business, after all. But for Nicole Kidman to be blasted for Birth “failing” is ludicrous. That movie was never going to make $100 million. It was designed to. She chose that role because she is an actress who also happens to be a movie star. She’s taking roles she thinks will challenge her. And, frankly, when she takes on something “commercial,” it’s usually a bad move. Nay, an awful move (think The Stepford Wives).
People lose sight of the fact that many of the roles most of these women take on (Roberts, Bullock and Barrymore excepted) are oftentimes because the actresses want to act. They shouldn’t be ripped up for small character studies not breaking box office records. People need to take into consideration what the studio was expecting from a film, not just whether it opens at #1.
Then again, since this list is about paychecks, perhaps my rant is misplaced.
3WH
Is anyone else’s heart warmed by the fact that Britney Spears, whom I like to call 3 Warm Holes (because she clearly has nothing else to offer), and her latest album aren’t even in the top 40 of Billboard’s album chart after only three weeks in release? Gives me hope that middle America may not be as lost as they appear to be…
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