Bankable star

Last updated
Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Leonardo DiCaprio are examples of "bankable stars". Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Leonardo DiCaprio 2019 by Glenn Francis.jpg
Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Leonardo DiCaprio are examples of "bankable stars".

In the film industry, a bankable star is an actor (movie star) "capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by showing up in a movie". [1] The bankability of an actor includes their films' box office track record, professional demeanor, and other factors. Hiring a bankable star helps a film company to secure investment, distribution, and garner media attention. Some bankable stars have so much star power that even films without a strong concept or "hook"―such as star vehicle films―are feasible to make.

Contents

A bankable director is a similar notion.

Overview

Media consultant Blake Harris [2] states that a bankable star is one of the "3 minimum ingredients to any film package," the other two being a successful director and a script or a strong story idea. The involvement of a bankable star in a film gives investors confidence that they will achieve a return on their investments by ensuring that the film is widely distributed and that at least some people will pay to see it (that it will "open").

Harris adds that obtaining a bankable star for a package is not easy because of the dearth of such stars. He states that at any point in time there are no more than "a dozen or so" stars whose mere involvement will ensure that a film will be made.

Analyst Alex Epstein [3] states that bankable stars or, more generally, "bankable elements" are how "hookless" films (films without a compelling concept that makes people interested in them in their own right) get made. He gives Dances with Wolves as an example of a movie: the involvement of Kevin Costner as the bankable star guaranteed that the movie was made. Writer Melissa Robbie concurs, stating that some movies are high-concept (they have what Epstein terms "hooks"), but others are simply star vehicles for bankable stars.

The Hollywood Reporter has published several results of polls for Hollywood's top ten most bankable stars, the most recent three being one in 1999, one in 2002 and the last one in 2006. [4]

The 2002 survey polled "114 executives at both major studios and independent companies, financiers and various industry players from around the world." [5] Voters were asked which stars "did the most to attract financing to a film, ensure its global distribution, and deliver that hugely important opening weekend based on the strength of their good name."

James Ulmer has compared his list of bankable stars, The Ulmer Scale, to a stock market index. His criteria for ranking is based on the name of a star alone being able to get people to movie theaters in the United States as well as the rest of the world. [6] In an August 2010 interview Ulmer described the international movie market as "unfortunately ... pretty sexist"; how a woman's name alone cannot sell a movie, and how female stars are only bankable when cast with a male star or in ensemble movies. [6]

Lists of most bankable stars

The Hollywood Reporter

These are the top 10 lists of the most bankable stars, with their scores, as published by The Hollywood Reporter.

Ulmer Scale

The list was created by veteran entertainment journalist James Ulmer, who developed a 100-point method to quantify a star's value to a film production, in terms of getting a movie financed and the cameras rolling. The Ulmer Scale also takes into account an actor's history (box office successes vs. failures), versatility, professional demeanor, and ability and willingness to travel and promote movies.

2009

The Top 10 list as of 2009 (in order of 'bankable' value): [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Forrest Gump</i> 1994 American film by Robert Zemeckis

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is inspired by the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Hanks</span> American actor and film producer (born 1956)

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Hanks' films have grossed more than $4.9 billion in North America and more than $9.96 billion worldwide, making him the fourth-highest-grossing actor in North America. He has received numerous honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honor both in 2016, as well as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2020.

An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry.

<i>Father of the Bride</i> (1991 film) 1991 film directed by Charles Shyer

Father of the Bride is a 1991 American romantic comedy film starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams, George Newbern, Martin Short, BD Wong, and Kieran Culkin. It is a remake of the 1950 film of the same name. Martin portrays George Banks, a businessman who becomes flustered while he and his family prepare for his daughter's marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivek Oberoi</span> Indian actor (born 1976)

Vivek Anand Oberoi is an Indian actor. The son of actor Suresh Oberoi, he began acting in 2002 with starring roles in the Hindi crime film Company and romantic drama Saathiya. His performances in them were praised and he won two Filmfare Awards for the former. He subsequently had intermittent commercial successes in the comedy Masti (2004), horror film Kaal (2005) and action film Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), while his supporting performance in the dramas Omkara (2006) and Kurbaan (2009) were praised.

Nickelodeon Movies is an American film production company owned by Paramount Global. Originally founded in 1995, it serves as both the film production arm of the American children's network Nickelodeon and the family film distribution label of Paramount Pictures, operating under its Paramount Players division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judd Apatow</span> American filmmaker (born 1967)

Judd Apatow is an American director, producer and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009), This Is 40 (2012), Trainwreck (2015), The King of Staten Island (2020), and The Bubble (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood accounting</span> Opaque or creative accounting methods

Hollywood accounting is the opaque or creative set of accounting methods used by the film, video, television and music industry to budget and record profits for creative projects. Expenditures can be inflated to reduce or eliminate the reported profit of the project, thereby reducing the amount which the corporation must pay in taxes and royalties or other profit-sharing agreements, as these are based on net profit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Allen filmography</span> List of films by Woody Allen

Woody Allen has acted in, directed, and written many films starting in the 1960s. His first film was the 1965 comedy What's New Pussycat?, which featured him as both writer and performer. Feeling that his New Yorker humor clashed with director Clive Donner's British sensibility, he decided to direct all future films from his own material. He was unable to prevent other directors from producing films based on previous stage plays of his to which he had already sold the film rights, notably 1972's successful film Play it Again, Sam from the 1969 play of the same title directed by Herbert Ross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margot Robbie</span> Australian actress and producer (born 1990)

Margot Elise Robbie is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received various accolades, including nominations for three Academy Awards, six BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017, and Forbes named her one of the world's highest-paid actresses in 2019.

<i>Crazy, Stupid, Love</i> 2011 film by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

Crazy, Stupid, Love. is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, written by Dan Fogelman and starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon. It follows Cal Weaver, a recently separated man who learns how to be more romantic and charm women.

<i>Gravity</i> (2013 film) Science fiction thriller by Alfonso Cuarón

Gravity is a 2013 science fiction thriller film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who also co-wrote, co-edited, and produced the film. It stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as American astronauts who attempt to return to Earth after the destruction of their Space Shuttle in orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ponsoldt</span> American film director, actor and screenwriter

James Ponsoldt is an American film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed the drama films Off the Black (2006) and Smashed (2012), the romantic comedy-drama The Spectacular Now (2013), and the dramas The End of the Tour (2015) and The Circle (2017).

<i>Saving Mr. Banks</i> 2013 film by John Lee Hancock

Saving Mr. Banks is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock from a screenplay written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Centered on the development of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, the film stars Emma Thompson as author P. L. Travers and Tom Hanks as film producer Walt Disney, with supporting performances by Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, and B. J. Novak. Deriving its title from the father in Travers's story, Saving Mr. Banks depicts the author's tragic childhood in rural Queensland in 1906 and the two weeks of meetings during 1961 in Los Angeles, during which Disney attempts to obtain the film rights to her novels.

<i>Big</i> (film) 1988 film directed by Penny Marshall

Big is a 1988 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a pre-adolescent boy whose wish to be "big" transforms him physically into an adult. The film also stars Elizabeth Perkins, David Moscow, John Heard, and Robert Loggia, and was written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg. It was produced by Gracie Films and distributed by 20th Century Fox.

<i>Suicide Squad</i> (2016 film) Superhero film by David Ayer

Suicide Squad is a 2016 American superhero film based on the DC Comics supervillain/anti-hero team of the same name. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, DC Films, and Atlas Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the third installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film was written and directed by David Ayer and stars an ensemble cast led by Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, and Cara Delevingne. In the film, a secret government agency led by Amanda Waller recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions and save the world from a powerful threat in exchange for reduced sentences.

<i>The Big Short</i> (film) 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Adam McKay

The Big Short is a 2015 American biographical crime comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Adam McKay. Co-written by Charles Randolph, it is based on the 2010 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis showing how the 2007–2008 financial crisis was triggered by the United States housing bubble. The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, with John Magaro, Finn Wittrock, Hamish Linklater, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, and Marisa Tomei in supporting roles.

<i>Finch</i> (film) 2021 film by Miguel Sapochnik

Finch is a 2021 American post-apocalyptic survival film directed by Miguel Sapochnik and written by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell. The film stars Tom Hanks and Caleb Landry Jones. The story follows an aging man named Finch, a survivor in a now nearly uninhabitable Earth, who builds and teaches a robot to take care of his dog when he dies.

LuckyChap Entertainment is an American production company based in Los Angeles, founded in 2014 by Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr. The company describes their focal point as female-focused film and television productions.

<i>Out of Death</i> 2021 action film directed by Mike Burns

Out of Death is a 2021 American action thriller film directed by Mike Burns and starring Bruce Willis and Jaime King.

References

  1. Daniel Frankel (1999-06-14). "Survey Says: Hanks Hollywood's Most Bankable Star". E!. Archived from the original on March 20, 2005.
  2. Blake Harris. "A Brief Look at the Industry". The True Art of Screenwriting. Archived from the original on 2006-05-12. Retrieved 2005-12-28.
  3. Alex Epstein (2002-10-08). Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies That Get Made . Owl Books. ISBN   0-8050-6992-5.
  4. Melissa Robbie. "Find your high concept or be left low without one". Melbourne Romance Writers Guild articles. Archived from the original on 2005-12-08. Retrieved 2005-12-28.
  5. "Bankable Stars". CBS News. 2002-02-05.
  6. 1 2 "Company Ranks Celebrity Bankability". NPR. August 6, 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  7. Bankable Stars, CBS News, Feb. 5, 2002
  8. "Tom Cruise and Hanks top new power list". World Entertainment News Network. 2006-04-10.
  9. "The Ulmer Scale". Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2009.