And the top best-paid actress is...

[edonline]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071130/ap_en_mo/big_money_actresses

Witherspoon tops best-paid actresses

Even though her latest film, "Rendition," was a flop, Reese Witherspoon is a moneymaker. The 31-year-old Academy Award winner commands $15 million to $20 million a movie, placing her at the top of The Hollywood Reporter's annual list of the highest-paid actresses.

Angelina Jolie came in second with similar salary demands, though the animated "Beowulf" earned the 32-year-old actress far less — just $8 million.

Cameron Diaz was third, with a $15 million-per-movie price tag. Nicole Kidman dropped to fourth place, two spots lower than last year, with an asking price of $10 million to $15 million a film.

Renee Zellweger and Sandra Bullock also get $10 to $15 million paychecks. So does Julia Roberts, who hasn't appeared on the big screen since 2004. Her next film, "Charlie Wilson's War," is due in theaters in December.

Rounding out the top 10 are Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster, who ask $10 million to $12 million per project, and Halle Berry, who gets $10 million a picture.

The salary list appears in The Hollywood Reporter's "Women in Entertainment: Power 100" issue, on newsstands Tuesday.

[Rawlin67]

wow, 15 to 20 for Witherspoon? id pass on that.

[xseanymacx]

:eek:

[JJFlamingo]

Reese certainly deserves it since she IS talented and pretty, but the fact that Jolie, Diaz, Zellweger, Barrymore, and Berry are up there too is an abomination...:mad:

[Worthystevens]

'Just' $8 million? :rolleyes:

[Nomein]

Thats a ridculous amount of money, what the fuck do they do with it. I mean its the same thing with pro sport players, whats the point for earning millions and millions of dollars to do what equally talented people who are making 1000 times less money can do as well.

Cut down the salary of actors, and cut down the salaries of producers, put more mone into making better movies, where everyone is paid based on the movies performance, and I bet you things would be different.

[adamjohnson]

God, the top ten are horrid. The only one I can even stand is Kidman. (And Jolie's hotness, obviously)

[X-Nightcrawler]

Well, whatever. It's not like she doesn't deserve it (to be the top paid actress; I do think 15 million is a whole lot). She was incredible in "Walk The Line" and I was recently rewatching "Legally Blonde" (great movie!) and she was the entire charisma in the cast.

I'm also happy for Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman. Both great, gorgeous actresses.

A little surprised to see Sandra Bullock there. Don't get me wrong, she's extremely likable and a great actress ("Crash", anyone?) but excpet that, she hasn't done anything in so long.

[The Heart Collector]

it's funny because none of those women can REALLY put the butts in the seats anymore (except maybe Reese).

[KcMsterpce]

it's funny because none of those women can REALLY put the butts in the seats anymore (except maybe Reese).

I could have a couple of those ladies put their butts in MY seat!

[xseanymacx]

...or me stick something in their butts.

[Drewza89]

I'm surprised Kidman still gets paid so much. Hasn't she been box-office poison recently?

The only person on that list that should be making that kind of money would be Foster. She has by far the best acting ability.

[Rawlin67]

Jolie only deserves that much money if shes naked.

[KingofKings2525]

She deserves every penny. For my money there is no better actress than Reese in today's industry.

I also get dragged to chick flicks and most of them are garbage but the ones with Reese arn't to bad... shit, did I just lose my man card?

[The Postmaster General]

This all reminds me of at the state fair where people pay good hard earned money to play tic tac toe with a chicken. Yeah, but what are you going to do?

[KcMsterpce]

The only time I was blown away by Reese Witherspoon was when she did FREEWAY.

Since then, I watched a few movies of hers because she was in it, but she never puts herself in anything other than her safe, cash-in-the-check roles. Which is fine for her, but I get disappointed that she won't move forward any more. Last time she seemed "daring" at all to me off the top of my head was in TWILIGHT where she was in it for about 5 minutes and was topless for no reason whatsoever. I don't mind that, but I was thinking that she'd soon outperform everyone she came onscreen with in something else afterwards.

But she hasn't.

[Kevin Lockard]

That's a whole lotta money just for acting in a damn movie. :rolleyes:

[dreamcurls]

wow.
that's crazy!
i'm with nomein, what the hell do they do with that much money? besides have really super huge houses?

[Rawlin67]

whores, drugs, and slaves are my best guess.

[The Postmaster General]

They live rich, but I think few keep banking that kind of dough their whole career. Look at some of the people on the list, they are already charging less. Then there's a lot of people they have to pay before making the money last so they don't have to work at Cold Stone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not like those millions are nothing, just saying when you have stylists and designers it's doesn't last as long.


KC - Have you seen Walk The Line? She was damned good in that. I've never really payed attention to her, and can hardly really name that many movies she's in - however, Freeway is one of them. Her laughing at Sutherland is what I remember her for. She's one of those actresses you'll start naming off movies she was in, and I'll be like, "Oh yeah... Yeah, that one was good too... Oh! Yeah! I remember her in that."

[ilovemovies]

Words cannot convey how much I loathed Freeway and how irritating Witherspoon's performance was in it. It was like fingernails in a chalk board bad.

But I did love her in Walk the Line. And she was great in Rendition, a terrific, underrated thriller.

She's even good in lesser movies like Sweet Home Alabama, which I did like.

The only movie besides Freeway I didn't care for her was in that overrated, inexplicably popular Legally Blonde.

I'm one who normally defends the celebrities who make the millions. For the most part, they earn what they get and there is a reason for why they get the millions. However, I must say a lot of these women are no longer as bankable as they use to be so I am a little suprised by some of the names included on the list.

One thing's for sure. Julia Roberts can make nothing but flops from now on and she'll still be making millions for her name alone.

[Rawlin67]

well, im pretty sure Charlie Wilsons War wont flop, but well see.

[JJFlamingo]

well, im pretty sure Charlie Wilsons War wont flop, but well see.

After the box office "performances" of Redacted and Lions For Lambs, I think the Charlie Wilson people are pretty much shitting their pants in fear right about now...:D

[AndrewDB]

Witherspoon? id pass on that.

I'd hit on it. :) :p

Probably get denied, but hell I tried!

[bigred760]

I can't think of one reason why anyone would put Cameron Diaz in a movie. She is not a box office draw in any movie she's in, she's a horrible actress, and hasn't had a hit since Charlie's Angels (of which she was part of an ensemble cast[/i]. Why she commands so much money per movie is beyond me.

Reese Witherspoon is "America's sweetheart," and that's why she's numero uno. None of the rest, save for maybe Angelina Jolie, are box office attractions anymore, if they ever were.

[rocknblues81]

Jodie Foster is obviously the best actress of the bunch. IF anybody deserves the money it's her. The rest? Nah, not so much. I'm sick and tired of hearing about Reese. Reese is a stupid name and she is a stupid actress. When she was born, Reese was the best name her parents could think of?:rolleyes:

Looks? She looks like a lot of other un exotic women to me.

[Badbird]

Yeah, well, once upon a time, Demi Moore was the highest paid actress in Hollywood.

So you can rest easy knowing that one day we'll look back and go "You know, once upon a time, Reese Witherspoon was the highest paid actress in Hollywood... I know, WTF?"

[Brando @$$ Fat]

For some reason I'm surprised it's not Jolie.

[AceD]

"Thats a ridculous amount of money, what the fuck do they do with it. I mean its the same thing with pro sport players, whats the point for earning millions and millions of dollars to do what equally talented people who are making 1000 times less money can do as well."

You can make an argument with some actors, but in sports, there are NOT equally talented people who can do what athletes do just as well. If there were, they would be playing and getting paid somewhere. Lebron James didn't get 'discovered' because he got lucky, he was just that good. Athletes deserve every cent they make. If people didn't buy tickets and merch, they wouldn't get paid. They are earning the money by providing the entertainment.

"Cut down the salary of actors, and cut down the salaries of producers, put more mone into making better movies, where everyone is paid based on the movies performance, and I bet you things would be different."

I think this sounds great. But in reality, if that was the case, then everyone would be eternally on strike.

"After the box office "performances" of Redacted and Lions For Lambs, I think the Charlie Wilson people are pretty much shitting their pants in fear right about now..."

I don't think so. I think Hanks and Roberts draw in more strongly than anyone other than Cruise (who hasn't yet proven he can get past his insane stage), and CHARLIE WILSON doesn't come across as blatantly message-y as those films did. Personally, I'm thinking CHARLIE WILSON is going to come from nowhere and round up the major awards a la MILLION DOLLAR BABY.

[Pride]

With the exception of Walk the Line, there's not much else that makes me think Reese deserves the top spot.

IMO Angelina Jolie should easily be there

[Kilar]

20mil for Reese had better include anal.

[chasingbanky]

Watched Election the other night. She played a creepy high school kid well. She's pretty cute, and has some chops... I'd rather she be on top than f in Julia Roberts.

[Kevin Lockard]

Yeah, well, once upon a time, Demi Moore was the highest paid actress in Hollywood.

So you can rest easy knowing that one day we'll look back and go "You know, once upon a time, Reese Witherspoon was the highest paid actress in Hollywood... I know, WTF?"

Speaking of, can Demi Moore even be called a "celebrity" anymore? Yeah, she still gets work, but the only times I seem to hear about her is either her plastic surgery and the amount of money she has put into getting it, or her marriage to Ashton Kutcher, neither which have anything to do with her as an Actress.