Overpaid Stars

A few weeks ago I came across an interesting article at Forbes Online, but I only remembered to blog about it today. As the post title sums up, the magazine was able to calculate a list of the top ten actors who have managed to convince Hollywood execs to pay them much, much more than they’re ultimately worth.

How did they calculate who made the list, you ask?

Simple. First, they only factored in actors and actresses who had three major releases (defined as a movie opening in over 500 theaters) in the past five years. Voice-over work from animated films were not included; we’re talking only live action flicks where their faces are splashed across the big screen. Then, Forbes simply divided the grosses of the films by the salary the actor was paid.

Care to guess the most overpaid actor of the last five years?

Will Ferrell. For every dollar he’s paid, his films gross $3.29.

Contrast this with the man-boy Shia LaBeouf, whose films make $160 for every buck he gets.

I can understand the stumble in Ferrell’s career. I used to be a huge fan. I have Old School, Anchorman, Blades of Glory, and his SNL Best Of on DVD, and up until about two years ago I saw every one of his movies. Didn’t see Land of the Lost (though that would have been a major source of nostalgia for me), and don’t plan to.

Ferrell has two problems, it seems to me. First, and most foremost, he plays the same character in every movie: the bloated, oafish, clueless, loud, out-of-place, doofus who ultimately has a heart of gold. Some roles are played more obnoxious, some more endearing. There’s an excuse to show his fat flab in every movie. Now, I found this funny, but only the first two dozen or so times. Overall, his characterizations are lazy, but since he’s so overpaid, there’s no incentive for him to change. So I’d like to see him stretch a lot more than he’s done in the past. I hope he can do it, ’cause I still enjoy him.

Secondly, he has an inexplicable case of BDS – Bush Derangement Syndrome. Proof is the one-man Broadway show he recently did (or maybe is still doing, I don’t know). C’mon, the man’s out of office and retired. Why alienate 50% of your audience with this nonsense, none of which is truly funny. The imitation is okay (much better than Fred Armisen’s lame and fearful attempt doing Obama), but got tiresome five years ago. Yes, Bush can’t talk in public. Yes, the liberal establishment has successfully branded him as a dummy. But, Will, move on …

All right. The rest of the list:

2. Ewan MacGregor - $3.75
3. Billy Bob Thornton - $4.00
4. Eddie Murphy - $4.43
5. Ice Cube - $4.77
6. Tom Cruise - $7.18
7. Drew Barrymore - $7.43
8. Leonardo DiCaprio - $7.52
9. Samuel L. Jackson - $8.59
10. Jim Carrey - $8.62

Perhaps Obama’s Pay Czar should look into this, no?

Source here.