FORBES.COM > The Celebrity 100

It's that time of year again: Forbes Magazine's Celebrity 100, which celebrates those who made more money in 12 months than I'd see in 12 lifetimes. I can't figure out what makes this stuff so darn fascinating, instead of just amazingly depressing, but get a load of these figures...

From June 2005 to June 2006, the following folks pocketed the following scratch:

Steven Spielberg - $332,000,000 (!)*
George Lucas - $235,000,000
Jerry Seinfeld - $100,000,000
Jerry Bruckheimer - $84,000,000
Tom Cruise - $67,000,000
The Olsen Twins - $40,000,000
Peter Jackson - $39,000,000
Denzel Washington - $38,000,000
Adam Sandler, Johnny Depp & Tom Hanks - $29,000,000 (each, obviously)
Jodie Foster - $27,000,000
Brad Pitt - $25,000,000
Angelina Jolie - $14,000,000
Mel Brooks - $5,000,000
Nicole Richie - $2,000,000

Scan through the article to see who else makes how much, and try not to smash your keyboard in frustration while you're reading; a new keyboard costs, like, 15 bucks.

(* He did sell his entire movie studio to Paramount, don't forget.)

DOCUMENTARY > The U.S. vs. John Lennon

Produced and about to be distributed by Lionsgate, The U.S. vs. John Lennon is a documentary about Lennon that explores "the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist." It was directed by the well-established music-doc team of David Leaf and John Scheinfeld, and the trailer, trawling for viewers prior to the film's mid-September release, just showed up online.

Now, don't get me wrong: The U.S. vs. John Lennon could be a phenomenal film. I'm immediately suspicious, however, of a preview that features an appearance by Geraldo Rivera as a sage-like talking-head in its first few seconds. The next talking head? Oh, that's G. Gordon Liddy, the guy who did the most prison time for Watergate-related offenses, far-right radio host and a certified nut-job to boot. Call me crazy, but these things trouble me a bit (and I honestly get a kick out of Liddy, at least when he's talking about Nixon and being all macho), as does the impression the preview gives that the film is less an exploration of Lennon's politics than a blunt instrument, designed to bludgeon its audience into agreeing with those politics. Like I said, the film could be brilliant, but the impression the trailer gives is a strange one to say the least.

Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

NASCAR stock car racing sensation Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) is a national hero because of his "win at all costs" approach. He and his loyal racing partner, childhood friend Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly), are a fearless duo -- "Shake" and "Bake" by their fans for their ability to finish so many races in the #1 and #2 positions, with Cal always in second place. When flamboyant French Formula One driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) challenges "Shake" and "Bake" for the supremacy of NASCAR, Ricky Bobby must face his own demons and fight Girard for the right to be known as racing's top driver.

Official Site.
QuickTime Trailers.
Yahoo! Movies.

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Kim Jee-Woon's psychological horror movie, A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, is the highest grossing Korean horror movie ever made and it's the first Korean horror flick to be given a full theatrical release in the United States.

American audiences expecting just another Japanese horror film like THE RING or THE GRUDGE will have their hearts shredded and their eyeballs seared by this emotionally-draining and visually ravishing fairy tale that is like nothing they've ever seen before.

"A fractured nightmare in a damaged brain, this hauntingly neurotic film delivers the kind of psychological horror that American cinema forgot about decades ago."
- Jamie Russell, BBC Film

"Masterfully manipulative and bloody scary."
- David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

A TALE OF TWO SISTERS will open nationally in early December in Los Angeles and New York before expanding across the country. This is the first in Tartan Films' "Asian Extreme" line which will also see theatrical releases of Park Chan-Wook's SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and OLD BOY.

DOCUMENTARY > Jack Smith & The Destruction of Atlantis

SEATTLEFILM.ORG: A defining influence on several generations of underground artists, performers and filmmakers, Jack Smith was an intensely charismatic, sometimes exasperating fixture of the New York art scene. This fascinating documentary explores the life and work of the inspiring artist who became the patron saint of the queer avant-garde.