Celebrity endorsements mean a lot to marketing executives as their cash cows bring in the dough from the consumers. Take Tiger Woods, for instance. Before he crashed into that tree and cheated on his wife with numerous women, he was the spokesperson for Nike, Tag Heuer, Accenture and more name brands who trusted his name and face to their campaigns.
According to Gerry Philpott, the reason that we bother with celebrities at all goes something like this:
“In a very crowded media environment its hard for companies to stand out. They need those names to cut through the clutter.”
According to E-Poll, the highest ranked A-list celebrities made the cut for the highest in trustworthiness, awareness and appeal.
10. Denzel Washington
The Academy Award-winning actor has never shied away from Tinseltown’s more meaty roles, portraying historical heavyweights like Malcolm X and Hurricane Carter. Among the results: He commands his viewers’ attention–and respect–whether he’s playing a corrupt cop in Training Day or a depressed detective in The Bone Collector.
9. Bill Cosby
The Cosby Show star has earned himself an “America’s Dad” nickname and an instantly endearing image–and advertisers have taken notice. In fact, over the course of his decades-long career as an actor and comedian, he’s served as a spokesman for Jello, Kodak, Coca-Cola and Ford, among others.
8. Will Smith
The former Fresh Prince star has reigned over the box office with commercial blockbusters like Independence Day, Men In Black and I Am Legend. With talent, charm and a stable family life on his resume, Smith is the kind of celebrity marketers can’t help but drool over.
7. Ron Howard
The name–or better yet the freckled face of–Ron Howard conjures images of an adorable redhead named Opie Taylor (on The Andy Griffith Show) or an endearing teen by the name of Richie Cunningham (on Happy Days). But Howard has since proved that he has talent on the other side of the camera as well, directing and producing Oscar-caliber films like A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 and Cinderella Man. Up next he’ll update his 1980s flick Parenthood starring Peter Krause and Lauren Graham on NBC.
6. Sally Field
In recent years the Norma Rae star has garnered attention–and fans–as the Emmy-winning matriarch of the Walker family on ABC’s long-running drama Brothers & Sisters. Off set she’s lent her star power to a postmenopausal osteoporosis medication called Boniva.
5. Morgan Freeman
The Academy Award-winning actor and director is often described as the man who made films like Million Dollar Baby, Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption the successes that they were. Still others instantly associate him with reserved image and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has put the latter to good use–he replaced Walter Cronkite as the voice that introduces the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
4. Mike Rowe
As host of Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs as well as the narrator for other series like Deadliest Catch and Ghost Lab, Rowe has endeared himself to an ever-expanding fan base. To date, companies like Ford and W.W. Grainger have already attempted to connect with those adoring fans–and their wallets.
3. Michael J. Fox
As Alex P. Keaton on the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, actor Michael J. Fox earned viewers’ affection. As a leading activist in the fight for Parkinson’s disease funding (a disease he was diagnosed with more than a decade ago), he has earned their respect. For these and other reasons (like talent and fame), Fox is among the marketing world’s safest bets.
2. Tom Hanks
Audiences laughed with Hanks as a wisecracking cross-dresser on the early 1980s cult comedy series Bosom Buddies. They cried with him as a homosexual AIDS victim in the 1993 tearjerker Philadelphia. And they rallied with him as a slow-witted Southerner in the 1994 runaway hit Forrest Gump. Throughout these and other roles the Academy Award-winning actor and director managed to earn their esteem, respect and confidence.
1. James Earl Jones
Jones boasts one of the most instantly recognizable voices in entertainment history –and a commanding presence to match. Still best known as the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, he’s also lent his voice to the CNN tagline and NBC’s Olympic coverage and his acting skills to everything from Conan the Barbarian to Field of Dreams.
Who would you add to the list? Who’s your favorite most trustworthy celebrity?
source: The 10 Most Trusted Celebrities – [forbes]
Are you all ready for a bit of depression? Forbes have released their annual list of the Top-Earning Celebrity Couples and just like last year the top spot is owned by Beyonce and Jay-Z. But unlike last year the couple made $162 million, this year they earned $122 million. A sign of the recession?
01. Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles : $122 million
Between Jay-Z’s musical empire, Beyonce’s chart-topping hit “Single Ladies” and several clothing lines and ad deals, this couple knows how to use their fame to make money. Jay-Z has a hit with “Empire State of Mind,” which he performed with Alicia Keys at the World Series. His next tour launches in February. Last year Beyonce sang at Obama’s inaugural ball and her film, Obsessed, earned $74 million at the worldwide box office.
02. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart : $69 million
For the past few years Ford has stayed out of the spotlight, but he returned in a big way in 2008 with Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Ford earned $65 million for his work in the role. His girlfriend, Calista Flockhart, is no lazy daisy. She stars on the ABC show Brothers & Sisters.
03. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie : $55 million
Pitt and Jolie have always gotten plenty of attention, but now they’re making plenty of money too. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was one of Pitt’s highest grossing films, earning $334 million at the worldwide box office. Jolie is profiting by embracing her inner action hero. Wanted earned $341 million at the worldwide box office. Later this year she’ll appear in Salt as a disgraced CIA agent.
04. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith : $48 million
Smith is without a doubt the biggest movie star in the world. His films have earned a total $5.7 billion at the worldwide box office and studio heads say he earns every penny of his $20 million paycheck. Most of the couple’s earnings come from Smith, but Pinkett Smith has a growing career of her own. She’s been writing and producing films as well as voicing Gloria the hippo in the Madagascar films.
05. David and Victoria Beckham : $46 million
Beckham is still a worldwide soccer sensation at the ripe old age of 34. Part of the year he’s a star in Los Angeles with the Galaxy. The rest of the year he plays for A.C. Milan, which should help him land a spot on the England team to appear in a record-tying fourth World Cup this summer. Beckham’s wife, Victoria (better known as Posh Spice), is scheduled to appear as a guest judge on this year’s American Idol.
06. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi : $36 million
DeGeneres has become an entertainment mogul. She has a successful talk show, shills for American Express and owns part of a dog food company. Next she’ll take over for Paula Abdul as a judge on American Idol. Her significant other, de Rossi, stars in the ABC show Better Off Ted, which has garnered a cult following but seems poised for cancellation.
07. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson : $35.5 million
As one of the few actors in Hollywood who can still command a $20 million paycheck, Hanks is the main breadwinner in his house. He had another hit this year with Angels & Demons. The film earned $486 million at the worldwide box office. This summer he’ll once again voice Woody in Toy Story 3. Wilson has a much more low-key career, but she still pops up in best friend roles. She recently appeared with Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated.
08. Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy : $34 million
Carrey and McCarthy have been a couple for the last four years and in that time McCarthy’s profile has risen considerably. She’s gone from a Playboy model to an outspoken (and controversial) vaccine opponent. Carrey contributes the majority of money to the pair, but McCarthy will soon have her own television show under Oprah’s Harpo banner.
09. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes : $33.5 million
Cruise and Holmes are a source of endless fascination for tabloids and they’re also very rich. Cruise is the family breadwinner, earning $33 million between June 2008 and June 2009. Holmes still acts a little. In 2008 she starred in Mad Money alongside Diane Keaton. Up next for Cruise: Knight & Day with Cameron Diaz.
10. Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow : $33 million
As the front man for the group Coldplay, Martin outearns Paltrow. The group’s latest album, Viva la Vida, sold 2.6 million copies in the U.S. and 3 million in Europe. Paltrow will be the high-profile spouse in 2010 though when she reprises her role as Tony Stark’s assistant, Pepper Potts, in Iron Man 2.
Lists like this make me really depressed, especially after I look at my bank account.
I’m starting to wonder if Julia Roberts even ages, she seems to look exactly like she did twenty years ago which you can see in these pictures from last night, anyway that isn’t the point of this post.
She said, “alright well, it’s late and I’m paying my babysitter overtime and I have to pee, so Tom, everybody fucking likes you. All my bits are gone. Listen, I had lunch today with Rita [Wilson, Hanks' wife], and her tits were here [motioned high] and her waist was here [motioned small] and her ass was like that [motioned high], so what can I tell you that’s new? Tom Hanks, what the fuck?”
She then went on to speak about his movie career saying “I love the Cohen brothers, but the hair Tom [in Ladykillers], I didn’t even know what the fuck that movie was about! You in the airport with the accent (Terminal), It was a pass for me. Airport? Were you just an immigrant lost? I didn’t know. I love you, and I didn’t know what to do, really. God, I’m wearing the same fucking dress tonight as your publicist! Listen, I’ve got to get home. But this much we know … I will say this: Tom Hanks, I love you.”
Before running of the stage she then added “it’s so dark out there, I feel like I’m in space, thank you, whoever just made it light. J.J. Abrams, are you here?”
I love Julia Roberts, always have and always will, I especially love her when she’s like this – I love a woman who isn’t afraid to say fuck.
Japanese citizen, Hiroshi Nohara had been living at Mexican Airport, Benito Juarez International for an entire three months. Sound like a movie that we’ve all seen? (Ahem, “The Terminal”, anyone?)
Nohara flew to Mexico on September 2nd with a tourist visa and a return ticket, but didn’t leave, until he disappeared suddenly over the weekend. A Mexican report said that he left with a woman who had visited him at the airport.
Just like Tom Hanks’ character in the movie, Viktor Navorski, Nohara became a quasi-celebrity at the center of the terminal. The only difference is that Nohara was able to leave the terminal and just chose not to, for some unknown reason. He also possessed a return ticket to his native Japan.
When speaking with journalists, Nohara never explained his motives for staying at the terminal, but did pose for pictures and sign autographs.
The woman he disappeared with had reportedly visited him twice during his three month stay at the airport terminal. He probably fell in love with a tourist and took off with her. The Japanese Embassy still has no idea where he is.
Parade magazine have come up with a list of 10 actors, who they believe are America’s Favorite Stars, the list features the usual people you would expect:
#1 Will Smith
Will Smith seems to glide from success to success without much effort. He’s a big presence. When he walks into a room, you know he’s there. In addition to hits like Ali, Men in Black, and Hancock, he cares about family and affecting the future.
Committed to the charity Malaria No More, he has traveled to Africa with his family to witness the devastation the disease can cause. “I think a large part of why I’ve been successful is that I have, essentially, a white-collar career with a blue-collar mentality,” he says. “I can never really relax. I’m always waiting to see what’s next. It’s always, ‘OK, something different is gonna happen here.’”
Next month he stars in the drama Seven Pounds. “I believe that the guy who works the hardest generally wins,” Will says. “ Nelson Mandela once told me that when he was in prison, he was able to watch one American film every six months. He said our films are about hope and what the world should be. He told me to keep doing exactly what I’m doing, because there’s a struggle somewhere that I’m helping. I got really inspired by that.”
#2 Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is so likable, we’d follow him to the moon. In fact, we already did in Apollo 13. Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Saving Private Ryan, and Big are other Hanks movies you watch over and over on DVD. “To me, this isn’t work—to go off and pretend to be somebody else,” he says.
“I couldn’t believe when they paid me $285 a week to act, much less the raises I’ve received since. I shouldn’t be called the nicest guy in Hollywood. I should be called the luckiest guy, because I still can’t believe it.”
#3 Reese Witherspoon
Some people bully their way to success. Reese Witherspoon rose to the top with “please” and “thank you,” the hint of a Southern drawl, and a winning smile. Legally Blonde put her on the map; Walk the Line won her an Oscar.
Now she’s a mom of two and a successful producer. “I try to be that person who can look in the mirror and be OK with myself,” she says. “I feel a certain responsibility to represent women who pay the bills, take care of the children, and try to have a fulfilling life themselves. I constantly feel like I’m striving to do better.”
#4 George Clooney
Clooney can kid about himself better than anybody. He’ll joke about turning Dr. Ross on ER into everybody’s fantasy guy. He’ll joke about wearing the Batsuit. But he does take some things very seriously. He’s passionately committed to bringing attention to the tragedy in Darfur. He’s determined to make worthy films like Good Night, and Good Luck and Syriana, as well as blockbusters.
Says Clooney: “My father has always inspired me. He said, ‘Don’t wake up at 65 and think about what you should have done.’ The great lesson is that you get a sort of credit card for being famous, and I’ve thought a lot about spending it in the right instances, for people and causes I can help.”
#5 Meryl Streep
She has an uncanny ability to transform herself into every character she plays, from a tragic heroine in Sophie’s Choice to the silly star of Mamma Mia! And she always seems to be enjoying herself—and embracing life. “Anybody who picks acting as a profession is bathed in insecurity,” she says.
“Even when you’re young, you think you’re not beautiful enough or you’ll never work again or ‘ I don’t know what I’m doing.’ I’ve had those feelings. People gave me a lot of confidence early on and encouragement to keep going. Each project I take is different—it intrigues me or makes me angry or tickles me in a new way.”
#6 Brad Pitt
Brad’s striking looks and love life make headlines, but he’s also a good guy, more down-to-earth than seems possible. He picks challenging movie roles like Babel or Fight Club. Next: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
“You need a game plan,” he says. “You either succeed because people want you to or you stay around because you make them let you. I try to stay dedicated to my work. If I were to dwell on any of the fame and celebrity stuff, I’d make decisions for the wrong reasons. I look at my kids and realize that they will inherit this world. So, if you’re going to throw your weight around, use it to make the world a little bit better.”
#7 Julia Roberts
The star of Pretty Woman has a megawatt smile that still works its charm. Onscreen, she can be one of the guys (see her with Clooney and Pitt in the Ocean’s movies) or a sassy fighter (Erin Brockovich). Offscreen, she’s a mom who took time off to raise her babies.
“Mustering up enough self-esteem to say, ‘I want to be an actor,’ was a big turning point,” she says. “I also said, ‘I can’t wait to be a mom.’ No five-year plan for me—I’m on the five-minute plan. I enjoy my life. You can’t be joyfully participating in the day if you’re thinking too much down the road.”
#8 Johnny Depp
What a grand joke that Johnny Depp—the handsome rebel of Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd—is now known for his riotous, rum-soaked (and moneymaking) Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.
The dad of two says: “My kids opened my eyes. I feel as though some great fog was lifted. Now I do what I want, without compromise, and try to maintain dignity and integrity. People like to think I’m a brooding, angry, rebellious guy. I’m not any of that. I’m not trying to be anything other than what I am.”
#9 Jennifer Aniston
Aniston has a way with a comic line that makes America want to hug her, take care of her—and look just like her. We’ll always think of her as Rachel, the favorite pal on Friends. Jennifer often is called today’s Mary Tyler Moore, because she shares the same endearing style.
“I was always the class clown with a lot of ideas,” she says. “I didn’t map out my life, and I still don’t. Can’t you tell? I consider myself a spiritual person. I sometimes feel like I am guided. I trust in life, I really do. I get asked all the time, ‘What’s next?’ and the fun is that I’m wondering too!”
#10 Patrick Dempsey
In addition to playing Dr. McDreamy on the TV hit Grey’s Anatomy, Dempsey is the romantic hero in movies like Enchanted and Made of Honor.
“I’ve just about achieved some perspective on everything that’s happened,” he says. “I’ve worked hard to get to this point, so I don’t worry that ‘I don’t deserve this.’ I’m grateful for every opportunity. I just want to do it right.”
Kim Kardashian isn’t all butt and lip gloss — she has a heart too! Kim took part of the Dream Foundation’s efforts in granting a wish.
Ms. Kardashian says,
I had a very magical day! I spent it with an amazing, strong girl named Jenni.
Jenni is battling her third diagnosis with cancer. She was first diagnosed when she was nine weeks old, then again in her senior year of high school and now again at 21 years old.
Her lifelong wish has been to meet Tom Hanks! The Dream Foundation granted her wish! During her stay in Los Angeles, I spent the day with her and we got our hair and make up done, which was another one of her wishes!
She is so strong and has such a positive attitude, which I think is so important when your life is being challenged. She shared her story with me and I can relate due to my dad passing of cancer.
After we spent the day together, we went to a charity event where we auctioned off items to help raise money for The Dream Foundation. My step brother Brandon and his fiance Leah performed there! They are in a band together and signed by Warner Brothers Records.
I feel so lucky to have been touched by Jenni’s spirit. I have learned so much from her.
Ok… I like Kim Kardashian just a little more than I used to — just a little.
George Clooney might have a gazillion bucks in the bank but he’s apparently a union man through and through.
In a two-page letter released Thursday, Clooney adopted a neutral stance in the dispute between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.
“What we can’t do is pit artist against artist,” he wrote.
AFTRA has already reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios. SAG wants AFTRA members to vote against the deal, saying its approval will handcuff SAG at the bargaining table. Both unions’ current contracts are set to expire Monday, leaving Hollywood on edge about a possible replay of the 100-day writers strike that ended in February. Results of the AFTRA vote are expected July 8.
Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and others have joined hundreds of actors in signing an online petition urging actors to ratify the AFTRA pact. Meanwhile, Jack Nicholson, Viggo Mortensen and Holly Hunter have endorsed a SAG ad calling for AFTRA to return to the negotiating table to get a better deal.
Clooney called the fight counterproductive. “Because the one thing you can be sure of is that stories about Jack Nicholson vs. Tom Hanks only strengthens the negotiating power” of the studios, he said.
Clooney also called on higher-paid actors to chip in a greater share of union dues and for 10 A-listers — “people that the studio heads don’t often say ‘no’ to,” he suggested, listing only Nicholson and Hanks by name — to sit down with studio heads once a year to “adjust the pay for actors.”
The idea of millionaire actors unionizing, let alone going on strike, has always struck me as ludicrous. But Clooney’s instinct here is right: if they’re going to organize, the big money stars ought to take care of the little guys. It makes sense to have a system in place for the folks struggling for scale jobs trying to get regular employment. Not so much one that has the likes of Clooney and Hanks walking a picket line.
Tom Hanks came to a bride’s rescue, when filming of his new movie delayed her arrival for the wedding services.
A girl’s wedding day is arguably the most nerve-wracking of her life, and she certainly goes to sleep the night before hoping everything will run smoothly. Of all the things that could throw a spanner in the works, however, a Hollywood movie star blocking the way to the church with his latest production is not usually top of her list of worries.
That’s exactly what happened to one Rome bride-to-be this week, however, when the path to the church was blocked by Tom Hanks and the crew of Angels And Demons, who were busy lensing scenes from the latest adaptation of the The Da Vinci Code author’s work outside the Pantheon.
The cameras stopped rolling momentarily, though, allowing Tom to help the young lady and her father on their way. The movie heavyweight chivalrously offered the bride his arm and even helped keep her long veil from trailing on the ground.
His good deed done, Tom got back to work on set with Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer – last seen opposite Dennis Quaid in Vantage Point. In the new flick the raven-haired beauty’s character Vittoria joins forces with Tom’s brooding symbologist Robert Langdon on a mission to unlock the secret world of the deadly ancient brotherhood known as the Illuminati, before they can kill again
All hope is not lost — Tom Hanks is living proof of that.
source: Tom comes to bride’s rescue after mystery filming delays wedding [hello magazine]
Darryl Hannah, the mermaid from Splash, who’s been acting for over 25 years, looked cosmetic surgery free at Fergie’s birthday party in Vegas on Thursday night.
Tom Hanks – In a play on the expression “art imitating life”, Hanks will play an on screen dad to a young man (Colin Hanks) who chooses to follow in the footsteps of a fading magician (John Malkovich) in The Great Buck Howard. Hanks’ character is less than thrilled about his son’s career decision. A film adaptation of Angels and Demons, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, has been announced, and on April 11, 2007 it was revealed that Hanks would reprise his role as Robert Langdon and that he reportedly will receive the highest salary ever for an actor.
John Candy died in his sleep on March 4, 1994 while on location in Durango, Mexico, filming Wagons East!. He was 43 years old. An autopsy revealed that he had suffered the complete blockage of one of his coronary arteries leading to a myocardial infarction and a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.
At the time of his death, Candy had been making a concerted effort to improve his health; he had recently quit smoking and had started losing weight. His family had a history of heart disease, and he had been warned by doctors several times before to reduce his weight. There is public evidence to indicate that Candy was highly self-conscious about his weight all his life. A few years before his death, he canceled a scheduled appearance hosting a CBC awards show because the ceremony’s advertising campaign jokingly touted him as “the biggest star in Canada”. (Leslie Nielsen hosted the show instead.)
Eugene Levy’s career received a tremendous boost in 1999, when he was cast as the clueless but loving dad in the sleeper blockbuster American Pie. He reprised the role for the film’s two sequels, and starred in three straight-to-video sequels, becoming something of a cult hero in the process.
The raunchy sex scene in Charlie Wilson’s ‘War’ sees British actress Emily Blunt crawling over the Oscar-winning star, Tom Hanks and she admits that she enjoyed it.
“It was hot. It was surreal!” she says. “And embarrassing because it’s just you with your t**s hanging out, and you always hope the lighting’s nice.
But Tom is really sexy. I promise you! He just made it effortless, to do those scenes. And he was so protective of me. He’s a real gent.”
But she feels that 51-year-old Tom might have been less comfortable getting hot and heavy with a 24-year-old. Somehow I doubt this.
“Maybe it was weird for him, because I could be his daughter and I’m friends with his son Colin,” she reveals.
“Also because Tom Hanks is not known for these kinds of scenes, for being that kind of guy – and Charlie Wilson was a massive player, he was really promiscuous. And sexy!”
Malibu and the celebrities inside are being threatened by a dangerous brushfire burning near Puerco Canyon. Residents are being advised to evacuate. The strong Santa Ana winds are helping to spread the flames, with more than a 1,000 acres burned.
A landmark hillside home known as the “Malibu Castle,” owned by socialite philanthropist Lilly Lawrence, has already burned to the ground. Some celebs in the area have been evacuated, including Olivia Newton-John, director James Cameron, and country star Tanya Tucker. The summer party house owned by LG has also burned.
Other celebs who live the area include Jennifer Aniston, Sting, Bill Murray, Nick Nolte, Robin Wright Penn, Mel Brooks, Howie Mandel, Tatum O’Neal, Rob Reiner, Goldie Hawn, Linda Ronstadt, Jeff Bridges, David Arquette and Courteney Cox, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg,Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. No word on whether they have been affected by the fire.
Source: “Malibu Fire Rages On — Celebs Being Evacuated?” [TMZ]
The story seems to be just another poorly executed hoax from this site (see: “actress drug overdose POPULAR!” in the Targeting Celebrities section), which previously attempted to kill off Tom Hanks during a fictional New Zealand shoot. Also not dead: Drew Barrymore and Helen Mirren. We may never believe another thing the once-trusted Global Associated News network tells us.
Of course, we haven’t actually placed a call to Ryder’s people, so feel free to continue freaking out until the story is officially denied.
The long-awaited sequel to the Tom Hanks blockbuster “Forrest Gump” may finally be coming, reports Cinema Blend’s Josh Tyler.
It’s been thirteen years since Forrest Gump first ran into theaters, and now it looks like America’s favorite chocolate loving mental deficient may be back for a sequel. Forrest Gump II isn’t a new idea, Paramount has been kicking it around since the original movie made a bajillion dollars, and in 2001 they even hired Forrest Gump writer Eric Roth to pen a sequel screenplay.
An absolutely reliable, unfortunately anonymous source, contacted me tonight with the latest scoop on Forrest’s impending return. It seems that old 2001 Eric Roth screenplay is being dragged out of development hell for another look by Gump producers Steve Tisch and Wendy Finerman. Remember that the first Forrest Gump movie was based on a novel by Winston Groom. Roth’s sequel script was based on Groom’s followup novel, “Gump & Co”. “Gump & Co” takes place several years after “Forrest Gump” and finds Forrest’s shrimping business failed and Jenny dead, leaving Forrest a single unemployed father. As you’d expect, Gump still stumbles through more important historical events. In this case it’s a cavalcade of history from the 80s and 90s. He even meets Tom Hanks.
So, why didn’t Paramount make this five years ago when Roth first wrote the script? Apparently the project got bogged down in a big legal tiff between Groom, the book’s original author, and the studio. Groom claimed he wasn’t properly paid for Forrest Gump, and so refused to sell them the sequel rights to his other book. Evidently they’ve now worked it out.
The truly important question here is whether or not Tom Hanks will return. Our source says Finerman and Tisch are talking to him, but there’s nothing definitive yet. It is however likely that Gary Sinise will be back as Forrest’s battle damaged buddy Lt. Dan. If Tom can’t be talked into it, will they replace him? Word is they want this in theaters within the next couple of years, so while it’s possible, let’s hope they’re smart enough to scrap it if he’s not interested. No one does a better potty dance.
I’m honestly not sure how a sequel would work, since the original covered such a long period in the character’s life and touched on so many iconic pop culture and political moments. Still, where there’s a buck to be made, there’s a way.
In a two-page letter released Thursday, Clooney adopted a neutral stance in the dispute between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.
“It was hot. It was surreal!” she says. “And embarrassing because it’s just you with your t**s hanging out, and you always hope the lighting’s nice.
