Which stars aren't earning their keep?

Lily Sun, Sep 14, 2008 at 05:51 PM EST

Although Nicole Kidman is really talented, she hasn't had a good project in a while, so I can see where she's probably not earning back her salary.

Jennifer Garner makes complete sense- she's never been anything but hype. And Juno doesn't make up for it because Ellen Page carried Juno. Garner's no Sandra Bullock, although Sandra Bullock is no longer carrying movies either, anymore.

Tom Cruise's movies still do well, but I guess he's paid so much that his movies have to be blockbusters, and that won't happen since he lost his mind and turned off some of his fans.

JLo needs to pick some good projects. Now that she's free and clear of Bennifer, settled down and had babies, I think the public could deal with her again if her movie was good.

Will Ferrell's low-brow comedy gets old after a while, but if he lowered his salary he'd probably be fine.

dma69 Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 01:15 PM EST

Nicole Kidman = After The Invasion and Golden Compass, yes.
Jennifer Garner = The Kingdom and Catch and Release flopped, but she made up for it with Juno.
Tom Cruise = yes, yes, yes
Cameron Diaz = Considering that all she does is wiggle her butt and make goofy faces, yes she's overpaid
Jennifer Lopez = YES. When was her last hit film? Was she EVER in a hit film?
Jim Carrey = If this list came out last decade, no. But this decade, yes, since he hasn't been in anything good since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Nicolas Cage = oh yes
Drew Barrymore = Yes. She needs to stop with the cutsy-kwirky roles. She's in her thrties now. Do something grown-up for a change. You're a BARRYMORE, for heaven's sale.
Will Farrell = Debatable, but his films do well, despite being the same old, same old.
Cate Blanchett = Hella no. She definitely earns her keep. Why is she on this list? Anyone that can go from Queen Elizabeth to Bob Dylan to tormenting Indiana Jones deserves their paycheck.

CJ Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 11:16 AM EST

If fame and salary were based on talent, then: Ryan Gosling, John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christian Bale, Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor would all be big stars with even bigger paychecks. Ahh, in a perfect world ...

Rob Grizzly Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 10:24 AM EST

I think all actors are overpaid. But hey...

Cate Blanchett shouldn't be on the list. She's worth every penny- Every time.

Will Farrell is definitely overpaid. And overrated.
Ditto for Cameron Diaz (who should be number 1).

They mention Jennifer Garner's Catch and Release and The Kingdom under-performing, but didn't Juno make up for that in spades? I think she earns her keep.

At this point I'd have to say Christian Bale is a bargain at whatever price he makes.

And Russell Crowe, of course

Dana Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 10:19 AM EST

Who earns their paychecks, Morgan Freeman,Edward Norton, William H. Macy,Helen Mirren , Anne Hathaway, Meryl Steep, Joaquin Phoenix
Jessica Alba has to be the WORST actress ever next to Lindsey Lohan of course. And I don't think that scarlett johansson is that great either.

Liddy Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 09:46 AM EST

Dane Cook. Seriously, how many of his movies have to tank before Hollywood realizes that he really and truly sucks. Just stop already. Really. Right now.

cd Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 09:10 AM EST

Stars not earning their keep - Jessica Alba! Yes, she is beautiful, but she isn't much of an actress. And her last 3 films - The Love Guru (one of the worst reviewed films of the year), The Eye, and Awake...seriously. overpaid.

GeeMoney Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 08:51 AM EST

Eddie Murphy is overpaid. I'm also ready to kick him out of the country for the barrage or craptacular films he's made in the last few years (except for Dreamgirls). J.Lo is defintely overpaid (who cares about her now that's she married to Skeletor?), so is Nicole and Tom Cruise.

What about a list that states the most overhyped actors? Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan and Keira Knightley would for sure top that list.

Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 08:51 AM EST

Or maybe no one's actually worth millions of dollars just to emote and say lines written by someone else? Therefore, aren't all well-known hollywood actors overpaid?

Jack Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 07:21 AM EST

I agree that Hollywood and the media don't seem to care about what the public thinks, but maybe if they started to care, they'd see attendance increase at the movies. They need to realize that just putting a "star" in a film doesn't mean it will succeed. I didn't know who Christian Bale was before Batman, but I still went to see it. Doesn't mean I'll see anything else he does. Same with everyone on this list.

And add Jessica Alba to this list of overpaid celebs.

Sina Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 05:15 AM EST

The last movie Nicole Kidman was in that was good was The Others and Moulin Rogue and those movies came out like 7 years ago. She's just like Meg Ryan, they messed up their face and are not bankable.

I use to love J-Lo but i agree she isn't worth what she is paid and Jennifer Garner is no new Sandra Bullock. I loved her on Alias but she has no appeal at the box office. She's too boring.

If anyone Rachel McAdams (if she would ever come back) could be the new Julie Roberts/Sandra Bullock/Nicole Kidman all mixed in one.

Kurt Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 12:21 AM EST

The fact is this list is ridiculous. There's more to casting than just money (granted, that's probably the biggest part, but still...) and more reasons for a film not to do well than the casting. When they cast stars, they're casting more than paydays but types. Like the blog says, Kidman is the old-Hollywood class, Garner is the girl-next-door. It doesn't really matter how much their movies make, they'll get cast because even if it's just the media that loves them, Hollywood only knows what media tells them. They have no idea what people actually think, nor do they care. They know what type they want, they know what type these actresses are.
And I say this as a fan of Kidman (Birth is one of the most underrated movies I've ever seen, and she's amazing in it), Garner (so far only really liked "Alias"), and Ferrall (by this point he's on the fence with Jennifer Garner though).

Sara Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 10:42 PM EST

I actually agree with everyone on the list. I trust this list more than people's impressions of which star does well or not. Either they earn the money or they don't.

Maybe Hollywood execs and the press should start to pay attention to movies that people actually attend.

I think people choose movies based on what they're about, not who's starring in them.

mehere Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 10:38 PM EST

I second the name of Kate Winslet as one who is under-valued in Hollywood.
What an amazing actress, in everything, light or heavy. Her turn in "Little Children" was spectacular.
I also would rate Matt Damon as the most appealing male movie star, atm, along with Mark Ruffalo.
Over-paid? Demi Moore.

Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 10:09 PM EST

actors who don't "earn their keep": Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Mike Myers, Eddy Murphy, and Lindsey Lohan.

Elise Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 10:08 PM EST

I'm not so sure about Tom Cruise. I'm no longer a fan after his comments about postpartum depression and all, and I know his movies underperform, but do they actually bomb?

t3hdow Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 09:57 PM EST

If my memory serves me right, I could've sworn popwatch mentioned this topic once or twice before.

Eric Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 09:44 PM EST

Nicole Kidman is a good actress, but she has zero appeal or charisma. She should stick to indie movies and show-off her acting.

Jen Garner has no appeal period. She's too masculine and her acting is robotic.

These women are glamorous as far as Hollywood and *the media* are concerned, not the public. That's why we don't go see their movies.

Kate Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 09:39 PM EST

I was a huge Alias fan. Yet, I've never understood the hype around Jennifer Garner. Outside of 13 Going on 30, she hasn't had a single success.

Alias was a cult hit- she never had the star power to make it a true hit, even after it was aired after Lost. And she couldn't protect Alias' ratings from the "Save MV" campaign, either.

Elektra and Catch and Release were both bombs. And don't just blame the movies themselves: if Garner had true star power, then they would have opened big and had big drops in the second week. Yet both of these films were DOA.

She couldn't even improve the audience for The Kingdom. And let's face it, no one went to see Juno because of Garner.

The truth is that no one would care about Jennifer Garner today if she hadn't gotten knocked up by Ben Affleck, trapped him into marriage, and then bombard us with daily photo-ops with her kid.

Yet hype only goes so far. Garner needs to actually do good work now to sustain her career.

Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 09:16 PM EST

That's a terrible picture of Nicole. It looks like she's got the Mr. Potato Head lips on.

Miss B Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 08:53 PM EST

J. Lo and Tom Cruise are two people I just don't get. I've never understood the public interest and can't figure why they earn the paychecks that they do. I have no idea what Ryan Goslings asking price is nor do I know what Christian Bale makes but I am positive they earn what they ask for. Everything they do is phenominal.

London Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 08:24 PM EST

I actually agreed with most people on the list being over paid. Especially Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Gardner. their movies usually do at best semi-decent in theaters, and bad enough for youto wonder how they even get in movies. I personally think Lindsey Lohan, Jessica Alba, and Hilary Swank are overpaid too.

Ugly Jenny Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 08:24 PM EST

Well as much as I love Jen Garner (Sydney from Alias is my hero and going to be the name of my firstborn), I can tell you one actress who truly earns her paycheck: Kate Winslet! It still baffles me to this day that she does not have an Oscar! What the H Academy!

jay Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 07:26 PM EST

Jennifer Garner is the next Sandra Bullock? Does Jennifer Garner even have an ounce of charisma? In my mind, Jen has a really long way to go before becoming the next Sandra Bullock.

DanOregon Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 07:10 PM EST

There are only a few actors or actresses who get me in the theater just because they are in a movie.
Don Cheadle, Jodie Foster, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman and maybe a few others. Mostly because they choose movies that say something and they tend to make bad movies good and good movies great.

Melinda65 Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 07:04 PM EST

WTH happened to Nicole Kidman's face? She looks as though somebody went crazy with a few markers.

Basically, I am amazed that anybody pays Adam Sandler to make movies.

cate Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 06:43 PM EST

Nicole Kidman is overpaid and over-rated. Not everyone in the public thinks she is glamorous or elegant. Her frozen face is strange looking and her hair only looks good when she wears her wigs.

Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 06:30 PM EST

Can anyone top this list other than Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Alba?

fancypants Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 06:04 PM EST

is being the next Sandra Bullock a good thing? her movies don't make $ anymore and she's never been Oscar-worthy.

Snarf Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 05:49 PM EST

The cast of The Hills. Oh and Gary, that pix of Kidman is cree-py.

BrandonK Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 05:42 PM EST

I voted "All of the Above" on a similar poll. It boggles my mind that some entertainers earn so much (producers, directors, singers, and sports stars included).

kelsey Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 05:10 PM EST

Of all the actors you mentioned, I like Will Ferrell the best. So I don't mind that he has a high price, because he more or less deserves it. But to answer your question, no, I don't think most of these stars are earning their "keep." And I might be in the minority here, but I don't think of Jennifer Garner as the next Sandra Bullock. I don't think of her at all, in fact. Or J. Lo for that matter. The last thing she did to get into the spotlight was have babies.