Forbes teases its Celebrity 100 list.
In: Will Ferrell, Dave Chappelle, Prince, Bette Midler
Out: Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks, Cher by Gary Susman
Which star has had the most lucrative year? Forbes magazine, which is releasing its annual Celebrity 100 list in this Friday’s issue, isn’t saying yet.
But the magazine did drop some hints about the makeup of the list. Talking to Entertainment Tonight, Forbes staff writer Peter Kafka noted a changing of the comedy guard, with new movie hitmaker Will Ferrell and Comedy Central cash cow Dave Chappelle making the list for the first time, even as Jim Carrey fell off the list. Similarly, Friends is out (Jennifer Aniston is the only member of the sextet still on the list) and Desperate Housewives is in.
Also prominent on this year’s list are vintage acts raking in the bucks on the concert circuit, such as Bette Midler, Prince, and Van Halen.
Curiously, Cher fell off the list, even though she’s spent most of the last three years on her lucrative farewell tour. Kafka explains that the list tries to take into account buzz as well as income.
”The Celebrity 100 list is our attempt to measure not only who’s getting paid but how many people are paying attention to celebrities,” he told ET.
Guess that’s also why Tom Hanks fell off the list; even though he made two movies last year, he kept a modest profile.
Maybe he needs to cultivate his mystique by walking off the set and making a spiritual pilgrimage to South Africa.
