One of the most anticipated movies of the upcoming fall season is “Australia,” Baz Luhrmann’s epic mash note to his home country, which stars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as Outback lovers.
Kidman, more than anyone, is likely hoping it’s a hit. Despite winning an Oscar for her performance in 2002’s “The Hours,” Kidman has become the most overpaid celebrity in Hollywood.
Forbes looked at each star’s last three films that opened wide before Jan. 1 (in order to give each film time for a DVD release). They didn’t count animated movies, supporting roles or anyone consistently earning under $5 million per movie.
Nicole Kidman
Kidman has an Oscar and earns $15 million paydays, but she’s proved to offer a poor return on investment. Despite bringing in $370 million in worldwide box office, The Golden Compass only grossed $3.36 for every dollar Kidman was paid. The Invasion lost $2.68 for every dollar that went to Kidman. She has a chance for a high-profile comeback with this fall’s epic Australia, which could earn the Aussie her third best actress nomination.
For every dollar she was paid, Nicole Kidman’s movies averaged $1 of gross income.
Jennifer Garner
Garner has stayed fairly under the radar since her 2005 big-budget disaster Elektra, which cost $40 million to make and earned only $56 million worldwide. Unfortunately for Garner her follow-up films didn’t do much better. Both Catch and Release and The Kingdom underperformed at the box office.
For every dollar she was paid, Jennifer Garner’s movies averaged $3.60 of gross income.
Tom Cruise
His recent cameo as a foul-mouthed studio exec in Tropic Thunder is earning raves and might usher in the era of Tom Cruise comedies. In the meantime, Cruise has to deal with the fallout from his recent dramatic blunder, Lions for Lambs. The film’s box office ($63 million worldwide) was bad enough that even without taking any upfront pay Cruise still earned the movie only $1.88 for every dollar he was paid.
For every dollar he was paid, Tom Cruise’s movies averaged $4 of gross income.
Cameron Diaz
The highest paid actress in Hollywood, Diaz pulled in $50 million last year. But her high salary makes it hard for the romantic comedies she stars in to earn a good return. The Holiday brought in $205 million worldwide but Diaz’s high payday meant the film only grossed $3.70 for every dollar Diaz was paid.
For every dollar she was paid, Cameron Diaz’s movies averaged $4 of gross income.
Jennifer Lopez
The singer/actress/designer has struggled at the box office for the past few years, choosing small projects like 2006’s El Cantante, a low-budget musical biopic starring her husband Marc Anthony, which barely registered at the box office. Her last big film was 2005’s Monster-in-Law, which grossed $155 million worldwide returning $6.85 for every dollar Lopez was paid.
For every dollar she was paid, Jennifer Lopez’s movies averaged $4.10 of gross income.
Jim Carrey
Long gone are the days when Carrey could attract crowds with his talking backside. The actor’s latest attempt at a serious film, last year’s The Number 23, flopped at the box office, earning only $77 million worldwide. Carrey has a chance to turn things around with this winter’s Yes Man. Carrey has so much faith in the comedy that he reportedly took no money upfront for his starring performance.
For every dollar he was paid, Jim Carrey’s movies averaged $4.11 of gross income.
Nicolas Cage
2007 was a year of highs and lows for Nicolas Cage. Book of Secrets, the sequel to Cage’s 2004 hit National Treasure, grossed $456 million worldwide. The sci-fi thriller Next, released that spring, brought in only $73 million. The movie lost 50 cents for every dollar Cage was paid.
For every dollar he was paid, Nicolas Cage’s movies averaged $4.16 of gross income.
Drew Barrymore
Barrymore has been unlucky at the box office recently despite the title of her last film: Lucky You. The movie grossed a mere $8 million in worldwide box office, which means it lost 17 cents for every dollar Barrymore was paid. Maybe that’s why she’s taking a bigger role behind the camera. She’s currently directing her first film, Whip It!, about a female roller derby league.
For every dollar she was paid, Drew Barrymore’s movies averaged $4.38 of gross income.
Will Ferrell
The former Saturday Night Live star did well with high-grossing comedies like Blades of Glory. The sports tale grossed $4.95 for every dollar Ferrell was paid. But he stumbled with his more serious turn in 2006’s Stranger Than Fiction, which grossed $53 million in worldwide box office, only $1.63 for every dollar Ferrell was paid.
For every dollar he was paid, Will Ferrell’s movies averaged $4.67 of gross income.
Cate Blanchett
The actress is better known for her acting skills than her box office draw. She has been nominated for five Oscars. But she stumbled in our list with her 2003 movie The Missing, which earned only $38 million in worldwide box office but cost approximately $65 million to produce. For every dollar Blanchett was paid, the film lost $2.94. She did better with Babel, in which she played Brad Pitt’s injured wife. The film grossed $135 million worldwide, $13.20 for every dollar Blanchett earned.
For every dollar she was paid, Cate Blanchett’s movies averaged $4.97 of gross income.
All of them make entirely too much money — it is extremely amusing that both of Ben Affleck’s women made the list.
source: Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Movie Stars [forbes]
Whether it’s cockroaches or heights, spiders or flying - everyone has a fear, and if you thought that the phenomenon of phobias do not exist for celebrities, then you need to think twice.
With Scarlett Johansson it is the fear of cockroaches.
“I once knew a girl who actually had giant African cockroaches as pets, and she would play with them and fuss over them. She often tried to get me to touch one, but I wouldn’t. I told her I have been afraid of them ever since I once woke up with one crawling over my face, and another was in my shoe.”
Nicole Kidman is a lepidopterphobe - she is terrified of butterflies.
“I am not afraid of snakes or spiders — just butterflies. It all started when I was a child. Sometimes I would come home from school and the biggest butterfly you have ever seen would be fluttering on our front gate. I”d climb over the fence rather than touch the gate, and crawl around to the side of the house to go in the back door.”
Jennifer Love Hewitt has revealed that she has a number of phobias, the worst of which is a fear of elevators.
“The trouble is that many of the Hollywood meetings I have to attend take place at the top of tall buildings — and I simply cannot set foot in a lift if there are too many people in it. If there’’s four of five people in it, then I just about manage it.
I prefer it when it’s empty so I can scream if I want to. I am also scared of sharks, which is why you will never find me in the sea, and I am a terrible hypochondriac. I have every illness known to man, and I am pretty sure I have had the bird flu four of five times. I know I drive people mad with my phobias.”
Jennifer Aniston has been terrified of flying ever since she was caught in a bad storm in a small plane years ago.
“We became caught up in an electrical storm. And the Toronto to New York flight took two hours, which was twice the usual time.
Every time we flew over a field I hoped the pilot would decide to land, but he didn’t. What really scares me is the take-off. I”ve heard all about the aerodynamics, the speed, the engine — but I still get nervous.”
Among the male celebrities who admit to having phobias is Johnny Depp, who revealed that he is not only afraid of singing in public, but also of clowns.
“I was forced to overcome my singing fear because of the movie Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I warned director Tim Burton that I wasn’t very confident of my singing abilities.
I also have had an acute fear of clowns — a condition known as coulrophobia — ever since I had nightmares of them as a kid. I used to see their faces leering at me.”
Soccer ace David Beckham suffers from ataxophobia - a fear of disorder or untidiness. We humans call that anal retentive.
He admits that everything has to match: his shirts are arranged in his wardrobe according to color, and he lines up cans of Coke in the fridge.
“I”m very organized and controlled and need to go to bed at night knowing what I”m going to wear the next morning.”
Eww. The very thought of Nicole Kidman naked is enough to make a man go limp for a week, but naked and pregnant is the new black.
Kidman is reportedly going to be featured nude on the cover a magazine circa Demi Moore, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. She was seen heading in for a shoot at Smashbox Studios in L.A. last week. Patrick Demarchelier did the photo shoot which is rumored to be featuring the pregnant Nicole Kidman nude for a magazine that has not yet been named. She is due sometime in early July.
The physical assault stemmed from an incident on Wednesday, when a fellow photographer was attacked by Nicole’s rambo-like trainer while the 53 year old photog was snapping Nicole and her trainer hiking. The trainer stole the guy’s camera which thankfully, was later returned.
Then on Thursday, our Flynet photog Jeremy and his 53 year old paparazzi friend were once again following Nicole Kidman and her bodyguard as they were making their way to the gym. The vehicle they were in stopped and the bodyguard stepped out, obviously in an agressive manner. Jeremy pulled out his video camera, hoping to quiz the bodyguard about the incident on Wednesday but as you can see from the clip, the bodyguard was in no mood to chat. Jeremy stepped back inside of his vehicle but that didn’t stop the bodyguard from attacking him anyway!
Afterwards, Nicole Kidman left along with her crazed bodyguard and Jeremy tried to follow them but eventually had to dial 911 because of his injuries. The police are currently investigating the incident.
The physical assault stemmed from an incident on Wednesday, when a fellow photographer was attacked by Nicole’s rambo-like trainer while the 53 year old photog was snapping Nicole and her trainer hiking. The trainer stole the guy’s camera which thankfully, was later returned.
