Actors Approve Contract, Ending Threat of Strike

See, they really were just like us...once

(NEWSER) - Even Tom Cruise had a newspaper route—in his pre-Hollywood days, of course. The Daily Beast uncovers the summer jobs of 15 celebrities:

• Amy Adams: The Enchanted star was, briefly, a Hooters girl after high school, but she says she “wasn’t cut out to be a Hooters waitress.”
• Brad Pitt: His first job in Hollywood involved wearing a chicken suit at El Pollo Loco.

Men prefer Clint, women like Johnny Depp in Harris poll

(NEWSER) - Americans love Clint Eastwood—he's the nation's favorite movie star for the fourth time in the annual Harris poll. Eastwood topped the men's list, as well being the favorite of Republicans and Independents. Democrats preferred Denzel Washington, while women liked Johnny Depp. The overall winners, not broken down by gender or politics, from Entertainment Weekly : More»

Cinema owners say actress was the biggest draw of the year

(NEWSER) - Cinema owners love Sandra Bullock, even if critics don't always agree. The owners named Bullock the Hollywood star with the most drawing power in 2009, thanks to her roles in The Proposal, The Blind Side, and even the widely panned All About Steve. The annual survey isn't based strictly on numbers but on which star brought in the most moviegoers by name alone, notes Reuters . Following her were Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, George Clooney, and Robert Downey Jr. More»

Football flick capitalizes on strong Thanksgiving weekend

(NEWSER) - Building on strong word-of-mouth and an unexpectedly lucrative Thanksgiving weekend, The Blind Side caught and passed New Moon at the weekend box office. The Sandra Bullock vehicle pulled in $20.4 million to $15.7 million for the teen vampire sequel. Both dwarfed Brothers, which underperformed despite stars Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Tobey Maguire, the Los Angeles Times reports. Another big name, George Clooney, has reason for optimism after Up in the Air raked in $1.2 million in only 15 locations. The top five: More»

In search of the actor's earlier persona

(NEWSER) - Where has Tom Hanks gone? Sure, he's still around on the big screen, currently breaking the bank with Angels & Demons, but what happened to the Tom Hanks that is "our Jimmy Stewart, a heartland guy, good people," wonders Betsey Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. The "hero and stand-up guy" of movies like Big and Forrest Gump has given way to the cynicism of Charlie Wilson's War. More»