SavvySugar

I'm Asking: Did Hollywood Influence Your Career Expectations?

SavvySugar — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:00:19 -0700

Hollywood tends to spotlight professions that are perceived as hip, adventurous, or respectful. The doctor looks like a rested rock star, the shopaholic journalist becomes a successful finance columnist, the young lawyer cracks the case and still has time to sneak out whenever she wants to have lunch with her gal pals. I love watching the lighthearted big-screen versions of what I know to be taxing professions, but the unrealistic depictions and instant career success that fits within the 90-minute romcom plot can be agitating.

Have your career expectations been influenced by sharply dressed bankers, lawyers, journalists, and doctors on TV and in movies (you know, the ones who manage to do it all by 23 and still have fun)? Or have you been able to base your career expectations on real-life examples?

Guess Which Actress Earned More Last Year

SavvySugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:30:25 -0700

Forbes launched its annual list of Hollywood's top-earning actresses, and the leading ladies brought in paychecks with several zeros between June 2008 and June 2009.

Question 1 of 8

Who earned more?

Do You Know What Your $9 Movie Ticket Pays For?

SavvySugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:30:19 -0700

Summer is the season for blockbusters, so it won't be surprising if you and I find ourselves forking over cash for a movie or two. Have you ever wondered what your money for those pricey tickets actually pays for? In its July issue, Money magazine breaks down the average $9 ticket for a typical movie with an all-star cast and uses Public Enemies as an example. Find out where your money goes when you take the quiz!

Take the quiz

Forbes Ranks Hollywood's Most Valuable Actors

SavvySugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:30:27 -0800

List-master Forbes is trying something new for 2009. For the first time, it asked entertainment industry members to take the Forbes Star Currency survey and used the results to rank Hollywood's elite in terms of their business appeal. More than 1,400 actors were rated on their ability to attract financing, whether their involvement guarantees the project will make it to theaters, box office results, and how their involvement played into rights deals for things like DVD or pay/free TV.

The first-ever survey concluded that Will Smith is the most valuable actor (without coincident, he was also the top earning actor in 2008). In fact, Smith was the only actor to receive a perfect 10 score. Rick Alvarez, Wayans brothers producing partner, told Forbes, "Will Smith is unique in that he is one of a very few people who is a draw purely on name alone. It almost doesn't matter what genre. The name alone creates a confidence with the audience that they're going to get something that's entertaining whether it's action, comedy, drama."

Will Smith's number one is followed by a four-way tie for second place: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt are equally valuable to the entertainment industry. To see the rest of the list, read more.

Tom Hanks
George Clooney
Denzel Washington
Matt Damon
Jack Nicholson
Julia Roberts
Adam Sandler
Tom Cruise
Russell Crowe
Will Ferrell
Meryl Streep
Robert De Niro
Ben Stiller
Jim Carrey
Clint Eastwood

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Forbes Ranks Hollywood's Top-Earning Power Couples

SavvySugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:30:00 -0800

If success is a turn-on, then the hot power couples in Hollywood must be lusting after each other to no end. These may be two-income households, but both halves can hold their own in millions. The jury is out on who tends to pick up the check, but Forbes has declared which pairs fit the bill as the top-earning couples in Hollywood. Here are the top 10 from the magazine's list of Hollywood's 20 Top-Earning Couples along with how much they earned this year.

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart: $22 million
Tony Parker and Eva Longoria: $22.5 million
Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman: $25 million
Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani: $28 million
Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann: $30 million
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: $34 million
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill: $35 million
David Beckham and Victoria Beckham: $58 million
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith: $85 million
Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles: $162 million

Source

Hollywood Changes to Play Along With the Economy

SavvySugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:00:15 -0700

As Wall Street tumbles, Hollywood stumbles to rewrite scripts that feature Wall Street as it used to be. That's not to say that every film or made-for-TV-movie will be a depressing commentary on current events, but investment bankers may need career changes and relocation from Wall Street. While Gossip Girl won't change a thing about its Upper East Siders, other shows are tweaking some details.

Some story lines are appealing to the public with Average Joe type characters and producers are coming up with series geared toward a budget-minded audience. Others are choosing to create stories that offer viewers a sense of escape and we can expect to see new attempts at fantasy world settings on the big screen.
In the past, troubled financial times have given way to feel good entertainment like smiley Shirley Temple, lavish film musicals ("The Wizard of Oz") and comedies where we see the upper class as "lovable fools."
Nicole Clemens of International Creative Management explains, “In bad times especially, people do not want to see on the screen what they’re living through."

Source

TV's Behind-the-Scenes Salaries

SavvySugar — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 11:01:31 -0700

It takes a lot of people on payroll to make all of the lights, camera, and action happen on TV shows. BuzzSugar filled you in on how much the big moneymakers make on-screen (hopefully you'll do better than me on her quiz!), and I wanted to give a shout-out to those behind the scenes whose roles aren't as visible. TV Guide included some interesting pay facts about how much money these important contributors command. Do any of the numbers surprise you?

$37,005: Minimum rate for director of a one-hour show on network or pay cable.
$2,132: Weekly minimum for a costume designer on a half-hour or one-hour show.
$486: Residual per episode for a writer who creates a new character on an existing show (up to four episodes).
$31,748: Writers Guild minimum for one-hour teleplay.
$2,202: Weekly minimum for makeup artist.

Check out four more behind-the-scenes roles and their pay when you read more.

$600-$800: Average daily rate for TelePrompTer operator.
$1,690: Weekly minimum for videotape editor of a scripted show.
$350: Average daily rate for entertainment-news show field producer.
$1,000: Average daily rate for Steadicam operator.

Source

Business Minded: Know Your Strengths - And Use Them

SavvySugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:01:22 -0800

We're almost at the end of our road to the Oscars and I can't wait to see what happens on Sunday! Have you filled out your ballot yet? There are prizes at stake! We're going to finish off our tips from Hollywood women on a strong note, and the women featured in this Glamour profile are different from the others we've seen because they've found success as a team.

Daniela Taplin Lundberg is a coprincipal of Plum Pictures along with coproducers Celine Rattray and Galt Niederhoffer. Daniela clued Glamour in on their secrets to smooth teamwork: "Galt is the creative genius. She has strong taste and opinions, Celine keeps the company going forward - she's constantly expanding her vision for us at a tremendous rate. I am the relationship person. I don't mind being on the phone for hours on end. That each of us has specific talents is why we works so well together."

Julia Stiles is coproducing The Bell Jar with Plum Pictures and here's what she had to say about why her collaborators are role models: "The three of them complement each other. They work so hard, and they work crazy hours. They have all the qualities necessary - they're tenacious, dedicated and good at making practical decisions."

Source

Would You Want to Be a Personal Assistant to Hollywood?

SavvySugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:06:34 -0800

The Princeton Review praises being a 'Personal Assistant to Someone Famous' in their book, The Best Entry-Level Jobs. This surprises me a little - maybe I'm just cynical because of what I observed watching sparse moments of Hey Paula?

According to The Princeton Review, "It's a great job for people who want a glimpse at how the truly fabulous live. It's also a great way to break into glamour professions because of the many of the contacts you make-not the dry cleaner, necessarily, but many of the others-will be invaluable."

I imagine the hard-working assistants to celebs will be working overtime getting their bosses prepared for the Oscars on Sunday. The excerpt from The Princeton Review's book says that the jobs are generally more about the experience and other perks above the pay, to expect lots of extra hours, and the connections you establish can lead to jobs more suited to your talents (in fashion, styling, etc.).

It also points out that being a personal assistant to anyone, and especially to someone famous, is challenging because it usually involves "a volatile combination of extreme intimacy and extreme subservience." Do you think the job would be worth the connections?

Source

Business Minded: Love Your Job

SavvySugar — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:27:04 -0800

We're merely four days from the Oscars which means it's time for another career tip from Hollywood's women that aren't scared to work it. Glamour got Lauren Zalaznick, president of Bravo and Oxygen network, to talk about her success - we have Lauren to partially thank for our Project Runway addiction!

Lauren's philosophy is simple enough but at the same time poignant: "The happier you are at work, the better you will be. Recognizing what makes you satisfied usually coincides with other people recognizing you are doing a good job."

Padma Lakshmi weighed in on Lauren as a role model, and it sounds like she's never daydreamed of asking Lauren to pack her knives and go. Padma said, "Lauren listens to my concerns. There will be times when she doesn't agree with me, and she'll say, 'We don't see your role like that.' A lot of people try to placate talent. Lauren's not like that."

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