Johnny Depp tops list of money earners

Johnny Depp tops
list of money earners

NEW YORK — Johnny Depp pillaged the most money for theaters in 2007, in a survey of movie exhibitors. Depp — star of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” — has nabbed the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row in an annual survey by Quigley Publishing Co. The survey, conducted every year since 1932, asks movie exhibitors to vote for the 10 stars who generated the most box-office revenue for their theaters.

Will Smith, now starring in “I Am Legend,” placed second on the list, followed by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, Will Ferrell and Tom Hanks. Though Cruise appeared in the box-office clunker “Lions for Lambs,” his track record is undeniable: He’s finished first seven times. Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and Bing Crosby finished first five times. Meanwhile, this was the first time in 24 years that exhibitors haven’t included a woman in the top tier of moneymakers, despite the success of Katherine Heigl (“Knocked Up”) and Keira Knightley (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”).

Priceline.com chose
Shatner over Cosby

LOS ANGELES — They don’t often compete for parts, but William Shatner beat out Bill Cosby for his longest-running role. Ten years ago, online travel company Priceline.com Inc. narrowed its list of potential spokesmen to Shatner and Cosby. The former Captain Kirk won out because he was more “futuristic,” and because “anyone holding a credit card aged 18 to 95 had heard of William Shatner and knew who he was,” said Brett Keller, the company’s chief marketing officer. It has been a happy union. Shatner lent his credibility and camp to the company’s early TV spots, in which he performed contemporary hits like “Bust a Move” in a classic lounge-lizard style. The ads, which became a cultural phenomenon and were sent up on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” “propelled Priceline from a second- or third-tier brand to a top-tier brand with extremely high brand awareness,” Keller said. Shatner, too, saw a bump in his fortunes. After some lean years, he began finding work and was eventually cast as lawyer Denny Crane in ABC’s “The Practice,” then took the role to the spinoff, “Boston Legal.” The part earned him an Emmy.

Today’s birthdays

Football Hall-of-Fame coach Don Shula is 78. Actress Dyan Cannon is 71. Actress Ann Magnuson is 52. Country singer Patty Loveless is 51. Rock singer Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) is 48. Actor Patrick Cassidy is 46. Singer-musician Cait O’Riordan is 43. Tennis player Guy Forget is 43. Country singer Deana Carter is 42. Rock musician Benjamin Darvill (Crash Test Dummies) is 41. Actor Jeremy Licht is 37.