Hollywood's richest men have Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to thank.
George Lucas, who earned $170 million in 2008, and his Indy co-producer Steven Spielberg ($150 million), top Forbes' first list of the 15 highest-earning men in entertainment. Their Crystal Skull star Harrison Ford, who reportedly negotiated for a healthy chunk of the film's back-end profits, earned $65 million, which was enough to land him at No. 11 on the list.
TV and movie producers occupied many prominent spots on the list, including Jerry Bruckheimer (No. 3, $100 million), Tyler Perry (No. 6, $75 million), Dick Wolf (No. 7, $75 million) and Simon Cowell (No. 8, $75 million). Musicians Bruce Springsteen (No. 9, $70 million) and Kenny Chesney (No. 12, $65 million), buoyed by tour revenues, made the cut. Seinfeld co-creators Jerry Seinfeld (No. 4, $85 million) and Larry David (No. 15, $55 million) prove that syndication is forever, and that they are still the masters of their financial domain.
Rounding out the list are Oprah protégée Dr. Phil McGraw (No. 5, $80 million), radio shock jock Howard Stern (No. 10, $70 million), mystery writer James Patterson (No. 13, $60 million), and actor-producer Adam Sandler (No. 14, $55 million).
In a shocking twist of events, I did not make the list.
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ER veteran Noah Wyle is locked in as the lead in TNT's new sci-fi series from Steven Spielberg.
Wyle will play the leader of a group of soldiers and civilians that battle against an alien force, according to the network. The pilot opens shortly after the aliens have decimated the human population, and Wyle's group sets out to find survivors.
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Spielberg is executive-producing the as-yet-untitled series. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) will write the pilot.
The series serves as a reunion of sorts for Wyle and Spielberg, who was...
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Convicted financier Bernie Madoff, sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison, counted a who's who of celebrities among his victims.
Kevin Bacon and his wife, The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick, confirmed in December that they were among the thousands duped by Madoff, who was convicted of hatching a $65 billion Ponzi scheme. The couple did not specify their loss, but Bacon said he was searching for projects because, "I need to work, for obvious reasons."
Art imitates life? Find out how The Closer's season premiere mirrored Madoff's scheme
Last month, Sedgwick said the couple was hurt, but not ...
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Leverage and Raising the Bar return to TNT this summer for their sophomore seasons, while three new shows make their debut.
The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick, and Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter, are also among the cabler's returning original series.
As for new fare, TNT is rolling out this summer HawthoRNe, a medical drama fronted by Jada Pinkett Smith; Dark Blue, a police drama led by Dylan McDermott (The Practice); and Wedding Day, a reality series from Mark Burnett.
The cabler's development slate for the 2009-10 season and beyond, meawhile, is both out-of-this-world and down-to-earth.
The dramedy Men of a Certain Age — starring Ray Romano (also a creator on the series), Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula — has been greenlit and tabbed for ...
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Showtime's United States of Tara (Sundays, 10 pm/ET) is returning for a second season.
At least one of the show's writers had her fingers crossed for a Season 2 — and not just because she likes her job. "We really had a hard time putting everything we wanted to do [with the series] in 12 episodes — and that's not always the case!" Alexa Junge told TVGuide.com at the series' outset. "[Tara's] got a good story to tell, and we're just getting rolling here."
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