The List Of Top 100 Most Valuable Actors Is Unveiled By Forbes. It Is A Strange List

February 16, 2009

R.F.Wilson writes: Do I have anything against the film actor Will Smith? Of course I do not. Do I know him personally and hold a grudge against him? The answer would be ‘no’ to both parts of this question. Have I seen any of his films? I have and I did not cringe or contemplate suicide like it happens with me when I see films with some popular actors and actresses.

But I would never in my life accept that Will Smith is the most valuable actor in the world, in a sense that he is so good that his presence on screen guarantees that a film becomes a box-office hit. I would agree that he probably appeals to a certain type of cinema-goers. But a huge actor he is not and never has been. And yet he somehow managed to come on top in the list of 100 most important and bankable stars compiled by Forbes magazine. Smith overshadowed such legendary actors as Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Daniel Day Lewis, Robert Redford and others.

I would never believe this to be the case. I am sorry, but even with all his talents Mr Smith is just not in the same league as all the names I have mentioned above. He is not even close to them. So for Forbes to come up with a result like that is simply ridiculous, even though the magazine based its findings on interviews with 1400 film execs and actors. The selection was based on the ability of actors to attract investment, turn the film into a box-office hit and help the sales of DVDs. (A small note: it appears that DVDs have now become huge money spinners for the film industry and even the most terrible of films still manage to bring in the dosh.) I think that the respondents simply went with the flow of mainstream audiences and placed acting merit second or even third.

Yes, I can accept that Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who share the number two slot in the top 100 list, attract large audiences and appeal to money men but they are not the sort of actors that you can put in front of Nicholson or De Niro. It is absurd to even try to do that.

Adam Sandler, Will Farrel and Ben Stiller, who are ranked in Forbes’ list in the top 20 are not even actors, in a strict sense of the word. They are average comedians who are prepared to talk in silly voices and pull silly faces for the duration of a whole film. Some people like to watch that sort of thing and I wish them luck. But to call this acting would be a huge exaggeration.

Just like it would be a great overstatement to call all the current leading actresses exceptional beauties. And there are a lot of women stars in Forbes’ list. I am always puzzled by the desire of film critics to include descriptions like ‘dazzling’ and ‘stunning’ and ‘intensely beautiful’ while describing some of the actresses who, in all honesty, do not really look that outstanding. I would even go as far as saying that it sounds rather patronising and absurd when an average looking woman is presented as a ‘beauty’. It often results in people developing a sense of hostility to the actress in question.

But maybe it is just me. I demand quality of acting in a film. The looks come second. I am old school, I sup

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