Download the posters for this year’s events
Jules Verne Festival Celebrates 30 Years since Empire Strikes Back with Luke Skywalker
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010Star Wars in Concert – A Night of Music & Magic
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
Star Wars in Concert – A Night of Music & Magic
By Erika Blake
Multipleverses.com
Ever since I first saw that Imperial starship race across the screen back in 1977 on the big screen, STAR WARS has always been a part of my life. George Lucas’s fantastical films have shaped my life in a lot of ways and the imagery, characters, and special FX have always thrilled me and opened up my imagination. However, all that I have to do is hear someone hum a bar from “The Imperial March” and it will always put a smile on my face. When I heard about the “STAR WARS IN CONCERT” tour coming, I had to buy tickets. Back when I lived in Boston I got to see the predecessor to this tour; I had scored free tickets to an outdoor symphony celebration of music in sci-fi films conducted by none other than John Williams conducting the Boston Pops. It was the first time that they performed live music while video screens displayed images from the various films that Williams has scored over the years with Star Wars being the focal point. Yeah, I was in major geek heaven.
For the STAR WARS IN CONCERT tour, a live orchestra plays Williams iconic music with a full choral backing. The show is a brilliant combo of lights, lasers, smoke & fire, story-telling, video montages, and live music. Anthony Daniels is along for the tour and between sets he tells the crowd of the musical progress of the event. The orchestra is very good and the sound quality for the event at Jobbing arena in Phoenix was excellent. I never strained to have to hear anything including Anthony’s parts.
Each section of the show showcases footage that matches the musical pieces and overall the show focuses on the rise and fall of the Republic, the discovery of Anakin Skywalker, his rise as a hero and fall, the rise of the rebellion, Luke and Leia’s journey, and the ultimate redemption of Anakin Skywalker. As a fan of the mythology of the films and as an avid Anakin/Padme shipper the whole evening brought a smile to my face as it focused on the heart of the films which is the hero’s journey. The concert was split into two parts with a 20 minute intermission between them. The story was set chronologically as Lucas always envisioned his films to be viewed: first half heavily focused on the events that took place during the prequels whereas the second half focused on the original trilogy. Along with the footage and music the stage and screen are surrounded by lights to set the different moods, there were lasers, and pyrotechnics. Here are the pieces that are performed during the concert:
Star Wars Main Title
Duel of the Fates
Anakin’s Theme
Moisture Farm
The Flag Parade
Across the Stars
Battle of the Heroes
The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)
Intermission
The Asteroid Field
Princess Leia’s Theme
Tales of a Jedi Knight
Cantina Band
Yoda’s Theme
TIE Fighter Attack
Luke and Leia
The Forest Battle
Light of the Force
Throne Room/End titles
The digital film footage that was displayed on the 3 story long digital screen was beyond impressive. The magical folks at Lucasfilm have been busy working on cleaning up the footage for all 6 six films. I can only believe that this tour is our preview for what has to be Blu-Rays that will be coming soon. There were times in the footage where they clipped together scenes from the prequels and the original trilogy and shown alongside each other, it was impossible to tell that the vintage footage wasn’t as recently shot as that from the prequels. The footage from A NEW HOPE, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and RETURN OF THE JEDI was brilliant, bright, and crisp. There were times when I had to squint because the footage was so vivid on the screen. The largest hint that our Blu-Rays could be on the way was during the telling of Anakin’s journey back to the light they flashed on Yoda in the Jedi Council chamber from THE PHANTOM MENACE saying, “Clouded this boy’s future is” and the scary green Muppet was gone and completely re-digitalized to match how Yoda appears in ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH. There were also included some of Ralph McQuarrie’s iconic conceptual design pieces that they had manipulated so that they appeared three dimensional. It made me wonder if they’re still testing and working on trying to convert the films for the 3D format.
If you’re going, get there early so that you can catch the props that they have on display. They included a Blue Guard, Red Imperial Guard, and gray Chancellor Palpatine robed outfit. We also saw the original Han in Carbonite, Boba Fett, and Chewbacca. If there were more there I didn’t see them, different arenas might have more or fewer props depending on the size of the venue. Also if the concert is playing 2 events back to back where you live, check as the event approaches for deals on tickets. The 7PM show that I attended wasn’t even 1/3 full and they were trying to sell tickets off at buy one get one 1/2 off just before the concert. I’d also highly recommend that you might want to buy your souvenirs in advance from the main site because the prices are jacked up by a good 25% at the actual event. US tour dates have been added clear through December. Be sure to check to see if the show is coming to your town. It’s a great event to attend with family and friends and is a great family friendly way to introduce symphonic music to a new generation of STAR WARS fans.
Here’s a trailer for the concert:
Re-Imagined “Star Tours” Coming to California and Florida in 2011 and Major Fantasyland Expansion at Walt Disney World Scheduled for 2013
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS CHAIRMAN JAY RASULO UNVEILS NEW ATTRACTIONS AND EXPERIENCES AT FIRST D23 EXPO
Re-Imagined “Star Tours” Coming to California and Florida in 2011 and Major Fantasyland Expansion at Walt Disney World Scheduled for 2013
ANAHEIM, Calif. (Sept. 12, 2009) /PRNewswire/ — Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo detailed plans for future lands, attractions and adventures that will be delighting Disney guests for years to come, at the first D23 Expo. Most notable among the announcements were the confirmation of an all-new Star Tours attraction and the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
“Storytelling is the DNA of Disney dreams and we’re always exploring new ways to tell new stories in new places,” Rasulo told a crowd at the Anaheim Convention Center in California before taking them on a “behind-the-magic” tour of their favorite Disney destinations.
Rasulo announced that a new 3-D version of the tremendously-popular “Star Tours” attraction will debut at the Disneyland Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2011. Based on the iconic Lucasfilm “Star Wars” films, the attraction will include immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the Star Wars galaxy.
For Walt Disney World in Florida, Rasulo outlined plans for the largest expansion in the history of the Magic Kingdom, vastly increasing the size of Fantasyland by 2013. Guests will soon be able to:
- Visit their favorite Disney Princess in her castle, cottage, or chateau to share a dance with Cinderella; celebrate Sleeping Beauty’s birthday with the Good Fairies; or join Belle in an enchanting story performance in the Beast’s castle library.
- Be Our Guest and dine in one of three enchanted rooms inside the Beast’s castle.
- Fly with Dumbo high above brand new circus grounds, twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent.
- Journey under the sea with Ariel, The Little Mermaid, in her very own attraction – also opening at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim in 2011.
- Meet Tinker Bell and her friends in the magical world of Pixie Hollow.
Rasulo provided updates on the multi-year expansion of Disney’s California Adventure including the new “World of Color” attraction slated to open in the spring of 2010 and the addition of the 12-acre Cars Land scheduled to open in 2012 where guests will literally step into the town of Radiator Springs and its six acres of hand-carved rockwork.
Rasulo noted the progress of several other recently-announced projects including the three new lands coming to Hong Kong Disneyland by 2014; the Disney Dream, the new ship being built by Disney Cruise Line; the many diverse itineraries being offered by Adventures by Disney that take guests on 19 unique, once-in-a-lifetime guided vacation experiences; and Disney’s first family destination resort on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
Rasulo’s keynote presentation was only part of the D23 EXPO experience. Guests were able to discover:
- Never-before-seen models of upcoming Disney attractions.
- Up close and personal visits with Lucky the Dinosaur and Wall-E.
- A preview of the most advanced Audio-Animatronics figures ever created by Walt Disney Imagineering.
- Displays showcasing cutting-edge effects technologies that are being developed for Disney attractions, shows and venues.
ABOUT WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are where families experience and enjoy the magic of Disney’s beloved characters and where dreams come true. More than 50 years ago, Walt Disney created a new kind of entertainment families could experience together, immersed in detailed atmospheres and vibrant storytelling. His vision now includes a collection of five of the world’s leading family vacation destinations – Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, Calif.; Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Tokyo Disney Resort, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan; Disneyland Resort Paris, Marne-la-Vallée, France; and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, located on Lantau Island. In addition, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts includes the world-class Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, with nine resorts and more than 400,000 members; Adventures by Disney, a guided group vacation experience to some of the world’s most popular destinations; the World of Disney stores; and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates and designs all Disney parks, resorts and attractions.
New Multipleverses Star Wars Photo Gallery!
Saturday, August 1st, 2009Ever felt the need to give your inner Star Wars geek a boost? I just loaded over 3500 photos in a new gallery for Multipleverses! You can find promo photos from the original films and prequels, cast photos, artwork, and Clone Wars stuff! Click Banner to check it out!
Concert tour of “Star Wars” to kick off in October
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A concert version of “Star Wars”, featuring a live symphony orchestra, huge screens, film clips and a traveling exhibit, 
will kick off a North American tour in October with plans to go global in 2010, organizers said on Thursday.
“Star Wars: In Concert” is described as a multi-media event that features music from all six of the movie scores written by John Williams and teams them with footage from the movies in a venture backed by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas.
“We’ve taken the key themes from the music and cut together all the images that fit with each theme, so you can really get a sense of how the music played into the images,” Lucas said in a statement.
“The whole soundtrack is a testament to John Williams’ creativity and his extraordinary ability to enhance the emotional aspects of the films,” he said.
Anthony Daniels, the actor who portrayed robot C-3PO in the movies, will narrate the event live. The 2 to 2-1/2 hour show will include some original film montages created by editors at Lucasfilm, and an exhibit accompanying the concert will include the full costumes for Jedi masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon as well as new and old props from the six movies.
The tour will start in Anaheim, California on Oct 1 and play about 40 dates in the United States and Canada before the end of 2009.
A spokeswoman for producers Another Planet Touring said they hoped to take the show on the road to Europe and other parts of the world in 2010. Tickets for the U.S. leg go on sale on August 1.
More than four years in the making, the show had its first outing in London in April under the title “Star Wars: A Musical Journey.”
NOTE from your admin:
We were lucky enough to see a prototype of this type of event about 10 years ago when John Williams and the Boston Pops performed music from Lucas’s films set to video that ran concurrently on a big screen. It was fun! If the concert comes to your area you should check it out- this is a great way to get kids interested in instrumental music and act as a launching point for getting interested in playing a musical instrument.
Star Wars Live Action Series- The Rumors Abound
Friday, July 3rd, 2009Rumors brought to you by Kate
Seemingly out of the blue we have some huge rumors coming out of Australia this week. The SCIFI Channel in Australia is reporting rumors that pre-production for the much discussed and nothing confirmed Star Wars live action series is on!
Rumours about the pre-production of Star Wars, the live action series, to be shot in Australia, have been confirmed by several inside sources.
The quality and style of writing that will be used will be of the highest quality, and local, and writers will be sourced from outside traditional Science Fiction shows. Several big names within the Australian industry (including writers from the Award-winning Love My Way and the Award-winning Secret Life of Us) have been approached by Star Wars uber-producer, Rick McCallum.
Love My Way and Secret Life of Us can be characterised by the focus on relationships and emotional landscapes (traditional ‘chick shows’, if you will). Bringing this element into the world of Star Wars sees a marked departure of the final three films and animated Clone Wars, where the primary audience was children.
This throws the new series into a whole new spotlight, and should excite fans of the Star Wars universe looking towards more adult fare.
More solidification of rumour into fact will come as soon as possible.
Sam Witwer at the Watchmen Premiere
In further Star Wars rumors, Sam Witwer spoke to a French Star Wars site and talked about working on the very successful FORCE UNLEASHED video game. It has been rumored that Sam will be taking his character to the series as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. This would certainly explain why Sam declined the offer from Smallville producers to appear in more episodes in season 9.
Other casting rumors include Rose Byrne being signed- possibly to play her character Dorme who was one of Padme’s handmaidens and Jay Laga’aia who has been seen as Chase on Legend of the Seeker- again possibly to reprise his role from the movies. He was Padme’s bodyguard.
Erika who is our resident Star Wars expert really feels strongly that any live action series must include Bale Organa. I say bring on Jimmy Smits as the leader of the underground resistance!
Mind you- all of this is in the speculation phase. We hope to have firm news to report soon. George Lucas has indicated he would like to push his series into a new media concept. Possibly- no network involved- internet release initially of the series so that it is shown globally and then the assorted nets can duke it out for syndication rights. George Lucas is fully financing the series himself, and using Aussie writers outside the US guilds. Any of you unfamiliar with George’s distastes for the unions- look up George Lucas and the Director’s Guild and The Empire Strikes Back. People tend to forget that George is the biggest independent film producer in the world. I suspect that this time next year all of the news about Comic Con will be focused on a Galaxy Far, Far Away…..
For tons of Stars Wars HQ photos- head to our forums! Erika has amassed a most impressive collection to share.
Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson chill at the French Open
Saturday, May 30th, 2009Looks like two of our favorite stars are still going strong- I gotta say Hayden looks sharp and very blond in these shots. Taken yesterday at the French Open.
Don Faison gives his pitch for a new Lando Calrissian TV Series
Saturday, May 9th, 2009Don talks a little about his new comedy Next Day Air which opened this weekend and he talks about his pitch which he would give to George Lucas for an Adventures of Lando Calrissian series. I think it sounds pretty good!
‘Star Wars’ Live-Action TV Series Casting Underway
Monday, March 9th, 2009
Exciting Exclusive news from MTV today about the new Live Action STAR WARS TV Series! So long as they remember that girls love STAR WARS too and don’t focus the whole series on Boba Fett, I’ll be there w/ bells on waiting for this one to arrive!
A live-action TV series set in the “Star Wars” cosmos has been an elusive, tantalizing prospect for years. News of the potential production first surfaced in 2005 while George Lucas was promoting “Revenge of the Sith.” Work on the “Clones Wars” animated feature film and Cartoon Network series, though, took creative precedence. In late 2007, Lucas revealed that he and his team were about to begin writing scripts for the live-action show. Now MTV News has learned that casting for the series is currently underway.
During the junket for the Nicolas Cage thriller “Knowing,” star Rose Byrne let slip that Team Lucas is casting a wide net for actors to join the show. “A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it,” she said.
According to Lucas, the show will focus on minor characters from the saga and be set in the time period between “Revenge of the Sith” (Episode III) and the original “Star Wars” (Episode IV). The action will follow the Rebel Alliance as it slowly gains strength against the Empire. There will be Stormtroopers, but no Jedi or Darth Vader will appear on screen. As he did with the “Clone Wars” series, Lucas will write and shoot an entire year’s worth of episodes before looking for a cable channel on which to air the series.
Thus, with casting just now moving forward, it looks to be quite some time before fans will be able to catch some live-action “Star Wars” on the small screen.
Bryne couldn’t have been more pleased about her time working with Lucas on 2002’s “Attack of the Clones.” “My experience was wonderful,” she said. “George is a great guy. I was just there for a week, standing behind Natalie [Portman] looking very demure and supportive. 95% of the fan mail I get is from ‘Star Wars’ and I’ve never seen them.”
As much as she enjoyed the “Star Wars” experience, Byrne, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on FX’s “Damages,” will not be auditioning for the live-action series. “I’m on a show,” she said. “I don’t know if I look that good in space.”
Who would you like to see cast in a live-action “Star Wars” TV show? Which cable channel would be the best outlet for the series?
Forbes Bankable Stars List – where do you favorite SCIFI genre stars rank?
Thursday, February 19th, 2009By Kate Blake, Admin Multipleverses
Forbes released their list of bankable Hollywood stars recently with some surprises and some things are not so surprising. Lets break things down by our favorite shows first- then we will look at the top movie stars.
From our favorite action and SCIFI TV series:
Kiefer Sutherland (24) Rank 160
Mary Lynn Rajskub ( 24) Rank 1390
Edward James Olmos ( BSG) Rank 892
Mary McDonnell ( BSG) Rank 977
Katee Sackhoff ( BSG) Rank 1189
David Boreanaz (Bones) Rank 770
Emily Deschanel (Bones) Rank 870
Gabrielle Anwar ( Burn Notice) Rank 1166
Bruce Campbell ( Burn Notice) Rank 1091
Hayden Panettiere ( Heroes) Rank 438
Milo Ventimiglia ( Heroes) Rank 837
Ali Larter ( Heroes) Rank 815
Zachary Quinto ( Heroes) Rank 993
Harvey Keitel ( Life on Mars) Rank 336
Michael Imperioli ( Life on Mars) Rank 798
Gretchen Mol ( Life on Mars) Rank 682
Simon Baker ( The Mentalist) Rank 819
Robin Tunney ( The Mentalist) Rank 916
Patricia Arquette ( Medium) Rank 635
Anna Friel ( Pushing Daisies) Rank 998
Lee Pace ( Pushing Daisies) Rank 1033
Kristin Chenoweth ( Pushing Daisies) Rank 505
Kristin Kreuk ( Smallville) Rank 1401
Tom Welling ( Smallville) Rank 907
Erica Durance ( Smallville) Rank 1356
Jensen Ackles ( Supernatural ) Rank 1402
Jeffrey Dean Morgan ( Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy) Rank 779
Summer Glau ( TSCC) Rank 1364
Lena Headey ( TSCC) Rank 1121
Anna Paquin ( True Blood) Rank 413
No big surprises – the highest ranked stars on the list all had done quite a few movies before coming to tv. Kiefer Sutherland ( 140) was a big movie star before doing 24 and most likely 24 has enhanced his movie bankability factor. Hayden Panettiere ( 438) did a series of kids films before coming a hero on Heroes and has been everywhere in the media so her visibility is very high in the media even with people who don’t watch the show. Kristin Chenoweth ( 505) won a Tony explaining her ranking – and that was before she was in Four Christmases which was a big hit in November. Anna Paquin ( 413) who won an Oscar in The Piano in which she costarred with Harvey Keitel (336) – I am honestly surprised her movie quotient isn’t higher since she was in all three of the hugely successful X-Men movies – X-Men made $296 Million, X-Men 2 made $407 Million, X-Men 3 made $459 Million- the franchise has earned over a billion dollars worldwide to date. She is part of a worldwide billion dollar franchise- and people are shocked that True Blood has been a huge ratings success for HBO. Go figure.
On the low end- the stars of the CW shows have fairly low rankings. Tom Welling (907) has only carried one 
film on his own and done a couple of other films which were ensembles so ranking in the top 1000 is pretty good. His 2005 starring role in The Fog made over 2 times the production budget at the box office- which is pretty decent for a horror flick. Jensen Ackles has not done any big box office films until this winter with his very profitable outing in My Bloody Valentine. MBV was made for about $15 Million and to date has brought in over $60 Million worldwide with rather limited release- look for big DVD sales. A box office return of 4 times the investment is very good. Jared Padalecki didn’t make the list at all- I am sure that will change for next year once the numbers for Friday the 13th are factored in. Friday the 13th was made for about $19 million by Michael Bay’s production company and had a big $55 million dollar box office opening weekend. Amanda Righetti from The Mentalist who was also in the film, also failed to make the list. Kristin Kreuk has been a couple of films in the past and her new Street Fighter Movie ensures her a good international box office. She currently is promoting her movie in Asia and doesn’t seem to be scheduled to do any promotion for it in the US. Neal McDonough and Michael Clarke Duncan who are in the film are doing the talk show circuit this week and next for the film. I find this odd- but it is related to Canadian stars not getting much play in the US. Jensen Ackles film My Bloody Valentine was produced by Lionsgate which arranged the promotion for his film explaining why he hit the talk show circuit last month. Jared managed to do some press interviews and was on Bonnie Hunt. Bonnie has been very good to SCIFI genre people- with many of our favorites appearing on her show since it premiered in the fall. Erica Durance was on Bonnie as well as G4 when she was in Los Angeles in the fall for the Emmy Awards. Erica’s rank is higher than Kristin’s- mainly due to her straight to DVD movies, a couple of TV movies and good exposure ( so to speak) on FHM and Maxim mens magazines.
In the category of huh….Summer Glau and Lena Headey are not in the top 1000 which surprises me in some ways, particulary Lena. Lena has a solid film history but most of it falls into the realm of independent films. She was in Brothers Grimm with Heath Ledger and Matt Damon- the movie she says almost made her quit actings- which was a huge flop- costing $88 million and only bringing in $37 million worldwide. This was more than made up for with the sucess of The 300 with Gerard Butler as her co-star which cost $65 million and brought in $210 million.
Hollywood has been upside down in how they make stars for years. You make these big budget films – they flop and you make more. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have made more big budget flops than they have had hits. Yet- all it takes is one little film that makes a ton of money to make you a bankable star in Hollywood. Hugh Grant had been making small arty films for years before he made the ensemble Four Weddings and a Funeral which overnight made him an A-list star. The cost for the film in 1994? $4 million dollars to make and it earned over $245 million dollars internationally at the box office. 
Lena and her TV son Thomas Dekker have been actively continuing to make independent films while shooting their series Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles. All it takes is one small film to resonate with the critics and your ranking can change overnight. That or be an overexposed teenager. The stars from Gossip Girl all rank very high on the assorted bankability lists- even though the show only reaches a couple of million viewers per week. This is about the perception of who is a star- most of the people in action and sci-fi TV are not glorified as press objects. Hayden Panettiere who is still a teenager is the exception to that rule- of course her young age is part of what makes her the next big thing even though none of the people on the top 10 bankable stars list are under 30.
Favorite Stars from Retired Sci-Fi Series:
Jennifer Garner ( Alias) Rank 116
Sarah Michelle Gellar ( Buffy) Rank 267
James Marsters ( Buffy, Smallville, Torchwood) Rank 1114
Rose McGowan ( Charmed) Rank 443
Alyssa Milano ( Charmed) Rank 683
Jessica Alba ( Dark Angel) Rank 108
Nathan Fillion ( Firefly) Rank 927
Christian Slater ( My Own Worst Enemy) Rank 360
Jason Behr ( Roswell) Rank 1047
Katherine Heigl ( Roswell, Grey’s Anatomy) Rank 118
David Duchovny ( The X-Files, Californication) Rank 284
Gillian Anderson ( The X-Files, Masterpiece Theater) Rank 507
In the ranks of favorite stars from retired series who have made it big- Jennifer Garner has a high bankability quotient though the movies she has been the lead in have not done anything spectacular at the box office. Again- perception. Wallstreet is told she is a big star- the tabloids follow her so it must be true. Jessica Alba’s outings in the Fantastic Four series have done well but her comedies and thrillers have been misses. Personally I think Jess needs a good comedy on tv. She is funny as heck and would be great in a workplace comedy where she is the pretty ugly girl. Katherine Heigl may have started out as an alien on Roswell, but she did something very smart when the series was over. She made a series of TV movies for the Hallmark Channel that got critical acclaim and did a couple of comedies including a pre-quel to Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. This helped land her a job on Grey’s Anatomy which opened doors for the romantic comedy films she has wanted to make. Her onscreen brother and former boyfriend Jason Behr has been making small films that keep showing up on cable, and has dones some horror he was with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the Grudge. He is shopping for a new TV gig. Christian Slater has not had a hit film in years and his tv outing in My Own Worst Enemy was a mess. Rose 
McGowan did film before Charmed and has been back to making movies since it ended. Watch for her in Red Sonya coming out this year. Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the Scooby Doo movies and has done a lot of go nowhere comedies. She does well in horror but horror doesn’t make you a big movie stars.
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprised their roles as Mulder and Scully this summer in The X-Files I Want to Believe which got creamed by The Dark Knight but still made back its investment by two fold when international box office was accounted for. David and Gillian have both been active in an assortment of independent films since the X-Files ended and David is riding high on the sucess of his comedy Californication on Showtime. Gillian has pursued theater and film since hanging up her badge and has brought new life to Master Piece Theater which she is now hosting.
Favorite Genre Stars:
Hugh Jackman ( X-Men) Rank 42
Famke Janssen ( X-Men) Rank 527
Christian Bale ( Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) Rank 29
Liam Neeson ( Star Wars, Batman Begins) Rank 120
Harrison Ford ( Indiana Jones, Star Wars) Rank 26
Megan Fox ( Transformers) Rank 347
Josh Duhamel ( Transformers) Rank 386
Missing from the list- Shia LaBoeuf who co-starred in both Transformers and the latest Indiana Jones chapter. His co-stars Megan and Josh made the list- Megan thanks to her being named sexiest woman on the FHM list and Josh married one of pop’s favorite ladies ( Fergie). Hugh Jackman needs to have Wolverine do well at the box office to cancel out the financial failure of Australia. Famke starred in the X-Men series but as a woman over 40 without a big critical pedigree- her ranking has dropped since last year. Co-starring in the box office sucess Taken with Liam Neeson should help. Liam is a venerable star who has been paying his dues in over 20 years on screen in all kinds of films. Christian Bale is proof that one big series can change your box office profile. Before Batman he was a fan and critics favorite but not considered a movie star.
Top Ten Movie Stars on the list:
1 Will Smith
2 Johnny Depp
2 Leonardo DiCaprio
2 Angelina Jolie
2 Brad Pitt
6 Tom Hanks
7 George Clooney
8 Denzel Washington
9 Matt Damon
10 Jack Nicholson
The funniest thing for me is that the list of the top ten stars includes Angie , Johnny Depp and Will Smith. 
Will’s most sucessful films have all been genre films and he never strays too far from them. Angelina Jolie has made a lot of movie- we are always being told what a big star she is, but the biggest movie she has made was Kung Fu Panda which she did voice work for. Mr and Mrs Smith grossed $478 million worldwide making 4 times what it cost, the first Tomb Raider movie made about twice what it cost, the second one broke even with a profit of about 50 % of what the movie cost to make. To date Changeling has critical acclaim and has done well overseas but it is not by any stretch a huge sucess. As for Brad Pitt- his films do much better overseas than at home.
Slated to break out- Jeffrey Dean Morgan. JDM is best known to our viewers as John Winchester on Supernatural , but as I can attest from my experience at Horror Fest last month, he is very well known for his role as Katherine Heigl’s dead boyfriend on Grey’s Anatomy. I overheard two little grey haired grannies commenting while pointing to the Watchmen posters ” Oh- its that handsome young man from Greys!” which made me laugh. The younger people at the theater were commenting on him being John Winchester. There is an age gap in TV viewing. 
JDM is playing The Comedian in the Watchmen and should become a household name if the movie does as well as I hope it does at the box office. The trailers are amazing and he is joined by a crew of talented and under exposed actors.
Hugh Jackman hosting the Oscars on top of his win as Sexiest Man of the Year for People marks him as a real movie star in Hollywood’s eyes. If Wolverine breaks 200 million US in a week he will prove he can open a big film on his own too. Zachary Quinto will be making a huge splash this summer in J.J. Abrams new interpretation of Star Trek. Quinto is playing Spock. I love him as Sylar on Heroes and find his intensity as an actor to be compelling- much like a young Jack Nicholson. If Trek does well his part will be a very big part of the sucess. Transformers is making another appearance- so Megan, Shia and Josh will all be back taking on killer robots. I will be very interested to see where our favorites rank at this time next year.
To see where your faves from other genres rank click HERE. You can also read the methodology that goes into determining the rankings. Box office numbers in this report from BOX OFFICE MOJO.
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