October 23, 2008
"TOP CELEBRITIES"
Pay $67 million
Power Rank 1
2007 Rank: 10
Cruise returns to the No. 1 position on the Forbes Power 100, a post he held five years ago, thanks to a combination of his awesome earnings from “War of the Worlds” and the media onslaught following his pairing with actress Katie Holmes. He also generated tons of ink with his couch-jumping antics on “Oprah,” his outspoken criticism of the pharmaceutical industry and, of course, his new baby, Suri. Love him or hate him, Cruise is Hollywood’s most bankable actor.
Pay $90 million
Power Rank 2
2007 Rank: NR
Last year’s A Bigger Bang tour grossed $162 million by the end of 2005, besting the band’s prior record of $120 million grossed from 1994′s Voodoo Lounge tour. In February, the band appeared in Rio before an estimated 1.5 million fans, its largest audience ever. Three months later the Stones performed for the first time in China, where government officials banned the group from playing provocative classics like “Brown Sugar” and “Beast of Burden.” But the biggest shocker came in May when guitarist Keith Richards fell from a tree while on vacation in Fiji, prompting emergency brain surgery. But the show will go on: new tour dates for the Stones’ Bigger Bang tour already have been announced.
Pay $225 million
Power Rank 3
2007 Rank: 1
America’s richest African-American continues to expand her multimedia empire. Her production of Broadway’s “The Color Purple” garnered 11 Tony nominations, including Best Musical. (It went on to win one, for Best Musical Actress.) She also is developing a syndicated talk show for popular Food Network star Rachael Ray, in addition to a weekly radio program, “Oprah & Friends,” for digital satellite broadcaster XM. And listen closely for Oprah’s voice as Gussy, the sage mother goose, in the animated version of “Charlotte’s Web,” slated for release this Christmas. Winfrey suffered rare criticism last year when her Book Club pick, “A Million Little Pieces” by James Frey, was revealed to have been fabricated. (She castigated the discredited author on her program later that month.)
Pay $110 million
Power Rank 4
2007 Rank: NR
The Irish rockers made more money in 2005 than any other musicians on the planet. Their album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. and U.K. charts last year and earned five Grammys, including one for Album of the Year. But U2′s prominent position on the Celebrity 100 list is owed largely to the media exposure of front man Bono, who has become an influential activist on behalf of AIDS awareness and debt relief in Africa. He has enjoyed audiences with such world leaders as George W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and the late Pope John Paul II, as well as a slew of other global leaders, and has pressed them to increase aid to Africa. Last year Bono, who is rarely photographed without his trademark sunglasses, was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Pay $90 million
Power Rank 5
2007 Rank: 2
Woods, still young at 30, has earned $58 million in career tournament winnings, $12 million more than his closest competitor. Add to that lucrative deals with blue chips like Nike, Accenture, General Motors and American Express, and it’s no wonder golf’s crown prince can afford playthings like his recent purchase of 155-foot yachts and a ten-acre oceanfront estate on Florida’s exclusive Jupiter Island. He’s not hording his fortune, either. The just opened, $25 million Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim, Calif., features a state-of-the-art educational center and golf practice area for kids.
The Celebrity 100
1. Tom Cruise
2. Rolling Stones
3. Oprah Winfrey
4. U2
5. Tiger Woods
6. Steven Spielberg
7. Howard Stern
8. 50 Cent
9. Cast of The Sopranos
10. Dan Brown
11. Bruce Springsteen
12. Donald Trump
13. Muhammad Ali
14. Paul McCartney
15. George Lucas
16. Elton John
17. David Letterman
18. Phil Mickelson
19. J.K. Rowling
20. Brad Pitt
21. Peter Jackson
22. Dr. Phil McGraw
23. Jay Leno
24. Celine Dion
25. Kobe Bryant
26. Michael Jordan
27. Johnny Depp
28. Jerry Seinfeld
29. Simon Cowell
30. Michael Schumacher
31. Tom Hanks
32. Rush Limbaugh
33. Denzel Washington
34. Cast of DesperateHousewives
35. Jennifer Aniston
35. Angelina Jolie
37. The Olsen Twins
38. Nicole Kidman
39. The Eagles
40. Rod Stewart
41. Shaquille O’Neal
42. Jerry Bruckheimer
43. David Beckham
44. Jessica Simpson
45. Andrew Lloyd Webber
46. LeBron James
47. Neil Diamond
48. Alex Rodriguez
49. Will Smith
50. Dick Wolf
51. Dave Matthews Band
52. Tom Brady
53. Ronaldinho
54. Jodie Foster
55. Ray Romano
56. Paris Hilton
57. Adam Sandler
58. Derek Jeter
59. Jennifer Lopez
60. Rick Warren
61. Scarlett Johansson
62. Katie Couric
63. Maria Sharapova
64. Valentino Rossi
65. Halle Berry
66. James Patterson
67. Leonardo DiCaprio
68. Kiefer Sutherland
69. Jim Carrey
70. Cameron Diaz
71. Gisele Bundchen
72. Renee Zellweger
73. Carson Palmer
74. Michelle Wie
75. Reese Witherspoon
76. Bill O’Reilly
77. Kate Moss
78. Diane Sawyer
79. Sean (Diddy) Combs
80. John Grisham
81. Rachael Ray
82. Dave Chappelle
83. Larry the Cable Guy
84. Tyra Banks
85. George Lopez
86. Regis Philbin
87. Serena Williams
88. Ryan Seacrest
89. Wolfgang Puck
90. Venus Williams
91. Annika Sorenstam
92. Matthew Broderick/ Nathan Lane
93. Mel Brooks
94. Emeril Lagasse
95. Nicole Richie
96. Heidi Klum
97. Mario Batali
98. Eric Idle/ Mike Nichols
99. Adriana Lima
100. Ty Pennington
October 9, 2008
US BOX OFFICE TOP 10
| Rank | Weekend Total | Weeks | Screens | Weekend screen avg. | Cumulative box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) | ||||
| $29,300,465 (%) | 1 | 3,215 | $9,113 | $29,300,465 | |
| 2. | Eagle Eye (2008) | ||||
| $17,709,817 (-39%) | 2 | 3,2516 | $5,036 | $54,614,521 | |
| 3. | Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) | ||||
| $11,311,751 (%) | 1 | 2,421 | $4,672 | $11,311,751 | |
| 4. | Nights in Rodanthe (2008) | ||||
| $7,368,259 (-45%) | 2 | 2,702 | $2,726 | $25,088,183 | |
| 5. | Appaloosa (2008) | ||||
| $5,050,310 (3346%) | 3 | 1,045 | $4,832 | $5,605,167 | |
| 6. | Lakeview Terrace (2008) | ||||
| $4,561,227 (-35%) | 3 | 2,574 | $1,772 | $32,201,255 | |
| 7. | Burn After Reading (2008) | ||||
| $4,120,129 (-34%) | 4 | 2,397 | $1,718 | $51,678,103 | |
| 8. | Fireproof (2008) | ||||
| $3,987,509 (-41%) | 2 | 852 | $4,680 | $12,410,216 | |
| 9. | An American Carol (2008) | ||||
| $3,656,000 (%) | 1 | 1,639 | $2,230 | $3,656,000 | |
| 10. | Religulous (2008) | ||||
| $3,409,643 (%) | 1 | 502 | $6,792 | $3,428,633 | |
"BABYLON A.D REVIEW ANALYSIS"
MOVIE DETAILS:
In a bleak future, Vin Diesel is assigned to protect a woman who is host to an organism that may become a genetically engineered Messiah. Just an average Saturday for Vin Diesel.
REVIEW ANALYSIS:
One can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for Babylon A.D., a movie that’s been disowned by its director, ignored by its star and dumped into theatres by its studio during the slowest of the summer’s dog days. But as much as I’d like to offer the film some words of encouragement and a pat on the back for effort, I have to concede that it’s pretty terrible and not in the “so-terrible-it’s-awesome” way of such past late-summer gems as Snakes on a Plane and Neil LaBute’s demented Wicker Man remake.
No, Babylon A.D. is just plain bad; it’s the kind of film that’s such a waste of time and resources, you have to wonder why it was made in the first place. And as tempting as it is to accept director Mathieu Kassovitz’s version of what went wrong—namely, that the studio compromised his artistic freedom at every turn, even cutting their own version of the movie in the editing room—based on the elements he had direct control over (such as the performances and the screenplay), it’s hard to imagine a director’s cut being significantly better.
Although the credits claim that Babylon A.D. is based on the popular French sci-fi novel Babylon Babies, the movie more closely resembles a louder, dumber cousin of Alfonso Cuarón’s masterful Children of Men—call it Children of Men 2: This Time It’s Twins! Vin Diesel takes over the Clive Owen role as a world-weary cynic who learns to care again after prolonged exposure to a mysterious young woman carrying mankind’s future in her uterus. In Babylon A.D., this character’s name is Toorop and he’s a semi-retired human smuggler forcibly brought out of hiding by Russian mob boss Gorksy (Gérard Depardieu) for a high-paying gig.
Toorop’s mission, which he has little choice but to accept, is to transport the lovely Aurora (Melanie Thierry) and her guardian Sister Rebecca (Michelle Yeoh) from the Russian wilderness to New York City, where she’ll be met by her famous mother (Charlotte Rampling), high priestess of the vaguely Scientology-like Neolite religion. Along the way to the Big Apple, the trio is pursued by an army of goons that seem to be in the employ of Aurora‘s thought-to-be-dead father (Lambert Wilson), a scientist who for some reason thought it would be a good idea to implant artificial intelligence in human babies. (With an experiment that stupid, he can only be a descendent of Professor Frink from “The Simpsons.”) Two of his A.I.-enhanced tykes are currently gestating in Aurora‘s belly, where they provide their mom with special powers, like the ability to stop a guided missile with her mind. Too bad they aren’t also able to make this ridiculous story have a lick of sense.
Joking aside, Babylon A.D. actually gets off to a decent start and there are flashes throughout of the kind of film Kassovitz must have set out to make. As in Children of Men, Babylon offers a vision of the future that is essentially a dilapidated version of the present, where all the impressive technology can’t mask how cheap human life has become. Kassovitz seems particularly fascinated by the concept of borders and how much more difficult it becomes to move from country to country in an era of advanced globalization. The film’s most memorable scene (or, to be more accurate, its only memorable scene) finds Toorop, Aurora and Sister Rebecca racing dozens of other immigrants to win a spot on the only vessel bound for the Russian border: an ancient Cold War-era submarine where the crew shoots those unlucky enough to make it on in time.
Had Kassovitz (or the editors hired to cut the film on his behalf) actually pursued this thematic thread, it might have made the picture an ambitious failure instead of simply a failure. But any deeper ideas are quickly lost amidst the incomprehensible action sequences, the wooden acting and the nonsensical third act, in which the studio’s interference becomes blatantly obvious. (If the last scene makes any sense to you, please post an analysis online so the rest of us can figure out what the heck happened.) We can argue over who is ultimately responsible for this mess until the movie turns up on cable, but the fact is, some films are just doomed to failure from the moment they’re green-lit despite the best intentions of everyone involved. Babylon A.D. is one of those films.
October 8, 2008
US BOX OFFICE TOP 10
| Rank | Weekend Total | Weeks | Screens | Weekend screen avg. | Cumulative box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) | ||||
| $29,300,465 (%) | 1 | 3,215 | $9,113 | $29,300,465 | |
| 2. | Eagle Eye (2008) | ||||
| $17,709,817 (-39%) | 2 | 3,2516 | $5,036 | $54,614,521 | |
| 3. | Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) | ||||
| $11,311,751 (%) | 1 | 2,421 | $4,672 | $11,311,751 | |
| 4. | Nights in Rodanthe (2008) | ||||
| $7,368,259 (-45%) | 2 | 2,702 | $2,726 | $25,088,183 | |
| 5. | Appaloosa (2008) | ||||
| $5,050,310 (3346%) | 3 | 1,045 | $4,832 | $5,605,167 | |
| 6. | Lakeview Terrace (2008) | ||||
| $4,561,227 (-35%) | 3 | 2,574 | $1,772 | $32,201,255 | |
| 7. | Burn After Reading (2008) | ||||
| $4,120,129 (-34%) | 4 | 2,397 | $1,718 | $51,678,103 | |
| 8. | Fireproof (2008) | ||||
| $3,987,509 (-41%) | 2 | 852 | $4,680 | $12,410,216 | |
| 9. | An American Carol (2008) | ||||
| $3,656,000 (%) | 1 | 1,639 | $2,230 | $3,656,000 | |
| 10. | Religulous (2008) | ||||
| $3,409,643 (%) | 1 | 502 | $6,792 | $3,428,633 | |
"BABYLON A.D REVIEW ANALYSIS"
MOVIE DETAILS:
In a bleak future, Vin Diesel is assigned to protect a woman who is host to an organism that may become a genetically engineered Messiah. Just an average Saturday for Vin Diesel.
REVIEW ANALYSIS:
One can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for Babylon A.D., a movie that’s been disowned by its director, ignored by its star and dumped into theatres by its studio during the slowest of the summer’s dog days. But as much as I’d like to offer the film some words of encouragement and a pat on the back for effort, I have to concede that it’s pretty terrible and not in the “so-terrible-it’s-awesome” way of such past late-summer gems as Snakes on a Plane and Neil LaBute’s demented Wicker Man remake.
No, Babylon A.D. is just plain bad; it’s the kind of film that’s such a waste of time and resources, you have to wonder why it was made in the first place. And as tempting as it is to accept director Mathieu Kassovitz’s version of what went wrong—namely, that the studio compromised his artistic freedom at every turn, even cutting their own version of the movie in the editing room—based on the elements he had direct control over (such as the performances and the screenplay), it’s hard to imagine a director’s cut being significantly better.
Although the credits claim that Babylon A.D. is based on the popular French sci-fi novel Babylon Babies, the movie more closely resembles a louder, dumber cousin of Alfonso Cuarón’s masterful Children of Men—call it Children of Men 2: This Time It’s Twins! Vin Diesel takes over the Clive Owen role as a world-weary cynic who learns to care again after prolonged exposure to a mysterious young woman carrying mankind’s future in her uterus. In Babylon A.D., this character’s name is Toorop and he’s a semi-retired human smuggler forcibly brought out of hiding by Russian mob boss Gorksy (Gérard Depardieu) for a high-paying gig.
Toorop’s mission, which he has little choice but to accept, is to transport the lovely Aurora (Melanie Thierry) and her guardian Sister Rebecca (Michelle Yeoh) from the Russian wilderness to New York City, where she’ll be met by her famous mother (Charlotte Rampling), high priestess of the vaguely Scientology-like Neolite religion. Along the way to the Big Apple, the trio is pursued by an army of goons that seem to be in the employ of Aurora‘s thought-to-be-dead father (Lambert Wilson), a scientist who for some reason thought it would be a good idea to implant artificial intelligence in human babies. (With an experiment that stupid, he can only be a descendent of Professor Frink from “The Simpsons.”) Two of his A.I.-enhanced tykes are currently gestating in Aurora‘s belly, where they provide their mom with special powers, like the ability to stop a guided missile with her mind. Too bad they aren’t also able to make this ridiculous story have a lick of sense.
Joking aside, Babylon A.D. actually gets off to a decent start and there are flashes throughout of the kind of film Kassovitz must have set out to make. As in Children of Men, Babylon offers a vision of the future that is essentially a dilapidated version of the present, where all the impressive technology can’t mask how cheap human life has become. Kassovitz seems particularly fascinated by the concept of borders and how much more difficult it becomes to move from country to country in an era of advanced globalization. The film’s most memorable scene (or, to be more accurate, its only memorable scene) finds Toorop, Aurora and Sister Rebecca racing dozens of other immigrants to win a spot on the only vessel bound for the Russian border: an ancient Cold War-era submarine where the crew shoots those unlucky enough to make it on in time.
Had Kassovitz (or the editors hired to cut the film on his behalf) actually pursued this thematic thread, it might have made the picture an ambitious failure instead of simply a failure. But any deeper ideas are quickly lost amidst the incomprehensible action sequences, the wooden acting and the nonsensical third act, in which the studio’s interference becomes blatantly obvious. (If the last scene makes any sense to you, please post an analysis online so the rest of us can figure out what the heck happened.) We can argue over who is ultimately responsible for this mess until the movie turns up on cable, but the fact is, some films are just doomed to failure from the moment they’re green-lit despite the best intentions of everyone involved. Babylon A.D. is one of those films.
