Adam Sandler is Hollywood’s "most valuable comedian," according to a new list by Forbes. The list is derived from the results of a fall 2008 survey in which Forbes asked hundreds of entertainment professionals to rate the "financial metrics" of major actors and actresses. And it contains mostly every funny guy you’d expect:
1. Adam Sandler
2. Will Ferrell
3. Ben Stiller
4. Jim Carrey
5. Vince Vaughn
6. Steve Carell
7. Eddie Murphy
8. Sacha Baron Cohen
9. Jack Black
10. Robin Williams
But the list does offer a few oddities, too. First, where are all the women comedians? It’s not that they don’t exist — just last week, EW shined a spotlight on the 25 funniest actresses. I’m especially partial to Jane Lynch, whose supporting roles — in, for example, The 40-Year-Old Virgin or Best in Show — manage to stay in your memory long after you’ve forgotten about her bigger costars.
Second, what in the world are Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams doing here? True, they”ll probably always be liked by the general public — at least in a nostalgic manner — no matter how many debacles they appear in. But Murphy’s last movie, Meet Dave, earned a mere $12 million, while Williams’ last two flicks (August Rush and License to Wed) halted at $32 million and $44 million, respectively. I mean, Seth Rogen, who turned 27 on Wednesday, is much more deserving of a spot on Forbes‘ list: During the past four years, he has starred in seven movies that have cracked $100 million. And his Hollywood future looks just as bright: He’s costarring with No. 1 comedy dude Sandler in Judd Apatow’s Funny People (the trailer’s embedded below), and Rogen will be donning a mask for Michel Gondry’s The Green Hornet.
PopWatchers, what do you think? Why are female comedians always overlooked? Any other omissions surprise you? And does Ben Stiller deserve that No. 3 slot behind Sandler and Will Ferrell? My editor argues that he should be higher, but I’m still suffering from nightmares induced by The Heartbreak Kid.
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The top 3 listed there are the most annoying actors in Hollywood, in my opinion.
In that order, too. I can’t stand them.
Love your Jane Lynch shout-out, but think Parker Posey is due for one, too.
What a sad sad list! Wow… Paul Rudd, Seth Rogan, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert… I could go on.
http://tvdonewright.com/
What an odd list….I’m surprised Chris Rock isn’t there..
I just watched the trailer and feel like I’ve now seen the film.
For some reason, it continues to be thought that by the general American public that women are not as funny unless they have some kind of “schtick” but you list obviously proves different. This is a country that took until 2008 to elect a non-White male president. How long until a woman is considered to be hilarious? Tina Fey ‘16!
This list is terrible! It’s mostly washed up white guys! Where are the ladies, the actors of color, the young people?
name one female comedian whose funnier and has had a more succesfull career than any dude on that list, the only one that comes close is tina fey, other than that i cant think of any really legendary succesfull female comics, yes rogan needs love on this list…
The only changes that I would see is the removal of Williams and the addition of Tina Fey.
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