George Lucas and Steven Spielberg
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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Noah Wyle
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.
Check out TV's sexiest sci-fi stars
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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Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick
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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Steven Spielberg, Ray Romano and Charles S. Dutton
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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Toni Collette, United States of Tara
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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Steven Spielberg
After ongoing negotiation, DreamWorks and Universal have signed their seven-year distribution deal, which effectively settles Paramount's divorce from Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider and lets the producing pair begin a new endeavor without sacrificing the capital to do it — or burning any industry bridges.
The two DreamWorks honchos recently stepped away from their Paramount relationship to partner with India's Reliance Big Entertainment, which will distribute the company's films on its home turf and has financed the new joint venture.
A few notable details of the deal seem to be win-win for all studios involved, and keep Paramount in the loop.
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South Park
Matt Stone and Trey Parker still know how to get people talking.
Wednesday night's South Park outing pushed the envelope and then did all kinds of god-awful things to it, with a recurring riff in which uberproducers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg repeatedly ...
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Diablo Cody by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com
Showtime has picked up 12 episodes of The United States of Tara, to begin filming this summer. Penned by Oscar winner Diablo Cody (Juno), the series centers on a wife and mother with a multiple personality disorder, to be played by Little Miss Sunshine's Toni Collette.As previously reported, John Corbett will costar as Collette's husband. Steven Spielberg will produce. Will Cody successfully segue into writing for television? Can she move from portraying teen angst to that of adults? Showtime, luckily, is giving us the chance to find out. — Anna DimondUse our Online Video Guide to see some of Diablo Cody.Related:• John Corbett Allies with United States of Tara• Toni Collette's Got Personalities in Spielberg Series • Multiple-personality Series Seeks Singular "Extraordinary" Star
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Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by David James/TM and (c)Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved./Paramount Pictures
I wonder if TVGuidecom would want to send someone me to cover this awesome event Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be premiering at the Cannes Film Festival which runs from May 14-25 Thierry Fremaux the festivals head said the presence of Steven Spielberg and the stars of the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones film franchise which will premiere outside the main competition would ensure a magnificent red carpet reported Reuters Mega-stars Harrison Ford Cate Blanchett and director-producers Spielberg and George Lucas are expected to attendThe red carpet will also sizzle with the likes of Scarlett Johanson Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem who will be promoting their Woody Allen film Vicky Cristina Barcelona Other highly anticipated premieres include Clint Eastwoods The Changeling with Angelina Jolie and Steven Soderberghs four-hour epic Che based on the life of the revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara Gee seems as though TVGuideco
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When Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull debuts worldwide May 22 the cast and producers wont just be taking risks in search of treasure theyll be risking their real-life earnings from the films profit Eschewing the usual upfront fees that talent typically get before a film even opens the new Indy film is set for an adventure in deal-making in which no one gets a cut of the profit unless the movie brings home the bucks at the box office With film production and marketing costs leaping through the roof says the LA Times Paramount Pictures set up a different kind of arrangement for the Crystal Skull which cost 400 million to make and market Executive producer George Lucas director Steven Spielberg stars Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf and other potential earners from the movie wont see much of a payday until that amount is recouped and exceeded Skulls talent though probably dont have much to worry about The first three of the Indiana Jones flicks earned 12 bil
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