MUMBAI: The Forbes magazine has voted Tom Cruise as the world‘s highest earning actor. The star topped the annual list of Forbes after earning $75 million between May last year and May 2012.
Cruise enjoyed a successful year after Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol earned more than $700 million at the global box office. Voted second was last year‘s top earner Leonardo DiCaprio along with Adam Sandler, both of whom earned $37 million.
Since there are two celebrities who took the second position, the third position was done away with. Former professional wrestler Dwayne The Rock Johnson was put in the fourth position earning $36 million after one of his films Fast Five took in an impressive $626 million at the box office.
Comedian Ben Stiller was at the number fifth spot with $33 million.Others in the top 10 included Johnny Depp and Will Smith.
While compiling the list, Forbes considers factors including upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.
Category: International
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Forbes votes Tom Cruise at world’s top earning actor
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Jackie Chan and Chris Dodd will headline networking event at TIFF
MUMBAI: Jackie Chan will join MPAA chairman and CEO Chris Dodd at the networking event for the Asian and western film industries to be held at the forthcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on 10 September.
“As both a key launch pad for films in North America and home to huge audiences for Asian cinema, we think Toronto can be a prime meeting place for the Asian and western film industries,” said TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey while announcing the upcoming Asian film summit.
Names of other guests at the summit will be announced in the coming weeks as Toronto continues to establish ties with the Asian film industry.
The Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to run on 6 to 16 September. -
Spice Girls want to turn Viva Forever into a film
MUMBAI: Spice Girls have planned to turn their new West End musical Viva Forever into a major film.
The popstars are reportedly in talks to turn their theatre debut into a film if it becomes a massive hit, it is reported.
They have already tasted cinema success in 1997 with Spice World and are hoping to repeat that by following in the footsteps of Meryl Streep starrer Mamma Mia!, the highest grossing musical of all time.
Viva Forever is a musical inspired by the songs of Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm. -
Spider-Man director Marc Webb interested in film sequel
MUMBAI Going by the success of The Amazing Spider-Man, director Marc Webb has evinced interest in creating a totally new adversary for the web-slinger.
“I do think it would be tricky to totally invent a major villain, but if I did that it would be The Mime,” Web has reportedly said. “My big contribution would be a villain called The Mime.”Insisting that he was kidding, the director said that the character‘s history is so rich with foes that whoever directs a sequel will have plenty of interesting ones to choose from. “I think you have to be pretty protective of the canon when it comes to villains,” he observed. “And Spider-Man has a great rogues gallery, so there‘s a lot to choose from,” he added.
Meanwhile, Webb said that he feels like the combination of proven story points and new ideas will allow a sequel to depart from iterations of the hero that audiences saw previously. “I wanted to create a universe that works in and of itself for one movie, but I wanted to create a universe that not only can withstand but anticipate future storylines,” he quipped.
Webb also said that he derived his approach to the film from the one employed by artistes and writers to the comic book itself. “That‘s something I love about the comics — the serialized nature of them,” he averred. “And then certain storylines we‘ll pick up and characters that we‘ll expand upon, but it‘s all part of the mythology that we spent a lot of time developing early on,” he ended.
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Disney’s Frankenweenie to premiere at Fantastic Fest
MUMBAI:Walt Disney Pictures‘ Tim Burton-directed Frankenweenie will have its world premiere as the opening night film of the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on 20 September. It opens wide on 5 October.
“Tim Burton stands as a titan of modern genre cinema,” said Fantastic Fest Co-founder & Creative Director Tim League. “To world premiere the feature adaptation of his early beloved short is a huge honor for me personally and for the festival in general.”
Based on the short film that launched Burton‘s career, Frankenweenie is a 3D black-and-white feature about a boy who brings his dead dog Sparky back to life.The voice cast includes Catherine O‘Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau and Winona Ryder.
The Fantastic Fest runs from 20-27 September.
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Ice Age sequel tops overseas BO with $78 mn
MUMBAI: Releasing more than two weeks before its July 13 in US and Canada, Blue Sky Studio‘s Ice Age: Continental Drift, which was released by 20th Century Fox in 9,505 screens including some 4,200 3D screens in 34 markets, took the number one spot with a weekend intake of $78 million.
At no 2, The Amazing Spider-Man raked up worldwide box office of $2.5 billion till date from 6,068 sites in just 13 markets drawing $50.2 million over the weekend.
Continental Drift is the fourth title in the increasingly remunerative computer animation franchise that has grossed $1.918 billion worldwide in the last 10 years. “It took the top spot in each of its opening markets, said a Fox statement.
Continental Drift‘s opening strength in Latin and South America was impressive. It set debut records in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Central America and in Chile. The Mexico premiere drew $13.8 million from 2,516 situations. Brazil kicked in $6.9 million at 1,010 spots. In France, the animation sequel notched the biggest opening of the year, generating $11.8 million at 1,072 venues Australia which contributed $6.4 million at 580 locations.The original 2002‘s Ice Age, grossed a total of $381.8 million globally with most of that ($207 million) coming from overseas playoff. The worldwide take for 2006‘s Ice Age 2: The Meltdown increased to $649.5 million with $457 million derived from the foreign circuit. Continental Drift opens this week in 14 markets including Germany and Holland.
The Amazing Spider-Man concentrated on Asian openings with South Korea ($13.4 million at 1,213 sites), Japan ($11.4 million drawn from 1,092 spots) and India ($6 million at 1,236 venues) throwing off the biggest numbers.
It may be remembered that Sony had decided to skip many European markets until the Euro Cup soccer tournament ended. However, a No. 1 Germany bow produced $4.2 million at 755 locations.Third on the weekend was DreamWorks Animation‘s Madagascar 3: Europe‘s Most Wanted, that drew $16.2 million in its fourth round overseas playing at 7,011 locations in 44 territories.
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Martin Scorsese embraces digital shooting technique
MUMBAI: Martin Scorsese has decided to abandon film and shoot his forthcoming films digitally, according to his long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Scorsese, who won an Oscar this year for his first 3D film Hugo, has lost the battle with traditional ways of filming motion pictures,says a report.
“It would appear that we‘ve lost the battle. I think Marty just feels it‘s unfortunately over, and there‘s been no bigger champion of film than him. It‘s a very bittersweet thing to be watching films with him now that are on film.
We‘re cherishing every moment of it. The number of prints that are now being made for release has just gone down, and it would appear that the theatres have converted so quickly to digital,” the report said.
Scorsese will begin his digital revolution by shooting his next project The Wolf of Wall Street that stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jean Dujardin and Jonah Hill in 2D. The film is expected to roll in mid-August. -
Clint Eastwood’s daughter to star in Final Girl
MUMBAI: Clint Eastwood‘s daughter Francesca has got her first major role in Final Girl that is to be directed by her boyfriend Tyler Shields.
The 18-year-old is now set to embark on a tough training regimen to prepare for the shoot that is set to begin in Vancouver, Canada later this year.
“I am beyond excited to be working with Abigail Breslin and it is such a dream to make a movie with Tyler Shields. His vision for this film is going to blow people away. I start my fight training next week and we start shooting in November. I can‘t wait for everyone to see Final Girl!,” she has reportedly said.
Sheilds has already signed actress Abigail Breslin for the thriller that is about a group of teenage boys who pick on the wrong girl as their last victim to initiate into their pack, it is understood.
Francesca previously appeared on the big screen alongside her father in the 1999 made film True Crime. -
Terrence Malick signs Freida Pinto and Christian Bale for next
MUMBAI: Terrence Malick has signed Freida Pinto and Christian Bale for his next project‘Knight of Cups. The film will also star Natalie Portman and Cate Blanchett.
After her entry into films in Slumdog Millionaire, Pinto has been making strides in Hollywood. She has successfully avoided being stereotyped in Hollywood by playing variety of roles in films like You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Immortals.
Bale, an Oscar-winning actor, is famous for his methodical approach to roles. He will be next seen in theatres in The Dark Knight Rises, the final triology of Christopher Nolan‘s Batman saga on 20 July.
After Brad Pitt starrer ‘The Tree of Life‘, Malick, will explore the theme of love and truth in the film, which has already gone on floors in Santa Monica. Malick, considered Hollywood‘s big foot for being extremely reclusive, has directed only five feature films in his four decade long career but his films are highly regarded. -
Jackie Chan takes to comedy films
MUMBAI: Taking a turn to comedy films, Jackie Chan is set to appear as a detective in an yet-untitled English-language comedy.
The film, that will be written by Jay Longino, will have Chan playing a detective who is out to track down an American gambler who has ducked out of a debt he owes to a Macau casino syndicate.
Chan‘s JC Group International is teaming with Talent International Media Group to produce the project that is based on an original idea of the actor, it is understood.
The film is due to premiere in Beijing on 12 December.
The revered action actor can next be seen in Chinese 12 Zodiac, that has been produced, written and directed by the star himself.
It may be remembered that a few days ago Chan had said that he wouldn‘t play action-oriented films anymore.