Vanity Fair, that bible of all that is vacuous and perennially over-privileged, each year likes to produce a list of those doing terribly well out of the Hollywood machine. And this year- with the Western world still plumbing the ongoing depths of a financial depression- they have continued the tradition of parading the top 40 entertainers (including film producers, actors and directors) thriving, seemingly contrary to the quality of their output. For those in the UK- where Vanity Fairs readership is a lot thinner- we have reprinted their estimated top 10 below so that, as a nation, while our education, health and forests become the assets of those that engineered our downfall, we can be cheered by the fact that in the midst of our poverty, there are those who earn tens of millions of dollars for reading aloud.
10. Robert Downey Jr. ACTOR
(CAA)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$31.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 28)
$15 million: Fee for starring in upcoming untitled
Sherlock Holmes sequel
$12 million:Iron Man 2 (back-end, based on worldwide gross of $627 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$3.5 million:Sherlock Holmes (back-end, based on worldwide gross of $523 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$1 million: Older film revenue
9. Taylor Lautner ACTOR
(WME)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$33.5 million (2009 rank: )
$12.5 million:The Twilight Saga:Breaking DawnPart 1 (fee for co-starring in upcoming penultimate
Twilight film)
$12.5 million:The Twilight Saga: Breaking DawnPart 2 (fee for co-starring in upcoming final
Twilight film)
$7.5 million:Abduction (fee for starring in upcoming John Singleton thriller)
$1 million: Older film revenue, mostly from
Twilight franchise
8. Todd Phillips WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER
(CAA)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$34 MILLION (2009 rank: 5)
$15 million:The Hangover Part II (fee for writing, producing, and directing)
$13 million:The Hangover (back-end for producing and directing; excludes $39 million earned in 2009)
$3 million:Due Date (back-end for producing and directing, based on worldwide gross of $200 million, as of December 31, 2010)
$2 million: Older film revenue
$1 million:Project X (fee for producing upcoming low-budget comedy)
7. Adam Sandler ACTOR, PRODUCER, WRITER
(WME)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$50 MILLION (2009 rank: 12)
$25 million:Just Go with It (fee for producing and starring in upcoming comedy opposite Jennifer Aniston)
$20 million:Jack and Jill (fee for producing and starring in upcoming comedy with Katie Holmes and Al Pacino)
$3 million:Grown Ups (back-end for starring and writing, based on worldwide gross of $271 million, plus share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$2 million: Older film revenue
6. Tim Burton DIRECTOR
(William Morris Endeavor)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$53 MILLION (2009 rank: )
$50 million:Alice in Wonderland (back-end for directing, based on worldwide gross of $1.02 billion, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$3 million: Older film revenue
5. Leonardo DiCaprio ACTOR
(Special Artists Agency)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$62 MILLION (2009 rank: )
$59 million:Inception (back-end for starring in somewhat convoluted Christopher Nolan film)
$3 million: Back-end for starring in somewhat convoluted Martin Scorsese film
Shutter Island, older film revenue
4. Christopher Nolan WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER
(CAA)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$71.5 MILLION (2009 rank: )
$69 million:Inception (back-end for writing, producing, and directing, based on worldwide gross of $823 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$2.5 million: Older film revenue
3. Steven Spielberg DIRECTOR, PRODUCER
(CAA)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$80 MILLION (2009 rank: 2)
$50 million: Universal-theme-park royalties and consulting fees
$20 million:War Horse (fee for directing and producing upcoming World War I drama)
$10 million: Older film revenue
2. Johnny Depp ACTOR
(United Talent Agency)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $100 MILLION (2009 rank: 21)
$40 million:Alice in Wonderland (back-end for starring in Tim Burton film, based on worldwide gross of $1.02 billion)
$35 million:Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (up-front money for starring in next installment of Jerry Bruckheimers waterlogged but ludicrously profitable franchise)
$20 million:The Tourist (fee for co-starring in one of the years bigger flops alongside Angelina Jolie)
$5 million: Older film revenue
1. James Cameron WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER
(Creative Artists Agency)ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS:$257 MILLION (2009 rank: 4)
$248 million:Avatar (back-end for writing, producing, and directing, based on 2010 worldwide box-office gross of $1.95 billion, and share of DVD and pay-television revenue; excludes $50 million earned in 2009)
$5 million:Avatar (share of toy licensing, other revenue)
$4 million: Older film revenue (e.g., back-end and royalties from earlier projects, other payments) The trends the top 10 alone imply is profoundly dispiriting- all are male (Kristen Stewart being the highest placed female at 13), of those that have been, at times, lauded for their artistry, it seems that the very worst of their output has drawn the most financial rewards. The most obvious example of this is the presence of long-time collaborators Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Both Burton and Depp have, in the past been subject to glowing praise for their craft and invention- most notably for the timeless Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, but their presence among the top 10 money makers comes as a consequence of the appalling Alice in Wonderland, capping a decade of weak output from Burton in a time when he has become one of the highest paid directors in the world. The most galling of all, however, is how Depp has made his money. Once considered the Gielgud of Grunge- whatever remaining credibility he once possessed has been all but eviscerated by a simple decision made in 2010 that cannot be forgiven. Rather than taking the opportunity to be a part of the mercurial Terry Gilliams Don Quixote, which is finally nearing production, he accepted a preposterous amount of money to return to his pantomime villain turn in the grotesque Pirates of the Carribean franchise. For those among us who have pondered what price a mans soul?- we have our answer: If Vanity Fair are to be believed, the price is $100,000,000.