GetListy » Tom Hanks

Top Pixar movie voices

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:17:15 +0000

With Up hitting theaters over the weekend, Pixar appears to have another hit on its hands. In the animation business, of course, voices make all the difference, and the studio has produced some shrewd and successful choices over the years.

Time went back over Pixar’s 10 feature films to determine the best vocal performances. Here’s what the magazine came up with:

Tom Hanks as Woody in Toy Story

John Ratzenberger as P.T. Flea in A Bug’s Life

Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story II

Mary Gibbs as Boo in Monsters, Inc.

Ellen DeGeneres as Dory in Finding Nemo

Brad Bird as Edna Mode in The Incredibles

Paul Newman as Doc Hudson in Cars

Patton Oswalt as Remy in Ratatouille

Ben Burtt as WALL-E in WALL-E

Bob Peterson as Alpha and Dug in Up

To read a little about these, and to see the faces that go with the voices, visit Time.

Top grossing Tom Hanks movies

Bill Sullivan — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:38:55 +0000

With the opening of Angels & Demons, Tom Hanks tries to uphold his standing among the top box office money makers of all time. Demons‘ predecessor (The Da Vinci Code) pulled in a very respectable $217,536,138 in lifetime earnings, effectively punching the ticket for another installment.

The 52-year-old Hanks ranks among Hollywood’s all-time money machines, dating back to the big splash he made with Splash ($69,821,334) way back in 1984.

What are his biggest box office showings of all time?

Here’s the list of his films that earned a lifetime gross of $200 million or more:

TV stars in movie hits

Ed Bark — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:11:29 +0000

From unclebarky.com

No one saw Paul Blart: Mall Cop coming. At least no one saw it coming to the tune of $64.8 million in ticket sales for its first two weekends of release.

That puts former King of Queens star Kevin James in the select company of TV denizens who have hit the big-screen motherlode with a surprise, career-turning hit. But where does James rank on the all-time list? Let’s count ‘em down.

10. Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) — His first star vehicle, after supporting roles in the likes of Bruce Almighty and Anchorman, took Carell into the realm of bankable comedy stars. The Office still churns his butter, but he now can pick and choose among big-ticket projects. Domestic box office: $109.4 million

9. Seth Rogen in Knocked Up (2007) — He co-starred in NBC’s critically acclaimed but little-seen Freaks and Geeks before also languishing in Fox’s likewise under-appreciated Undeclared. Both were creations of Judd Apatow, whose career soared along with Rogen’s when he made him the unlikely leading man of a comedy-romance co-starring Katherine Heigl of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Coming next year for Rogen: the starring role of Britt Reid in a new big-budget version of The Green Hornet. Domestic box office: $148.8 million

8. Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore (1996) — The former Saturday Night Live star slowly gained traction in movies such as Mixed Nuts and Billy Madison. Then Happy Gilmore took him into the stratosphere as a goofball golfer with a hockey player’s swing and mentality. Putting himself on the receiving end of a Bob Barker punch-out also proved to be comedy gold. Not a huge moneymaker, but a certified semi-cult classic that put Sandler on track to The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and Big Daddy in the next three years. Domestic box office: $38.6 million

7. Mike Myers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) — Likewise an SNL alum, Myers created a multi-million dollar franchise character for himself in this surprise spy spoof hit. Catchphrases abounded, too, including “Oh behave” and “Yeah, baby.” There have been two sequels to date, with Myers also cashing in as the voice of Shrek. Domestic box office: $53 million

6. Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992) — Stone had barely scratched the surface after compiling a long list of TV credits ranging from Magnum, P.I. to Bay City Blues to the miniseries War and Remembrance. But this single role as a diabolical sexpot — including a fleeting but memorable glimpse of her lower regions — propelled Stone to international stardom. Not that she’s done much of late. Domestic box office: $117.7 million.

Entertainers of the Year

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:02:57 +0000

Each year since 1990, Entertainment Weekly has selected its Entertainer(s) of the Year.It’s a diverse list, featuring everyone from Bart Simpson to J.K. Rowling, with all kinds of folks in between.

Some, you’ll remember fondly. A few, you may barely remember at all.

Ready to revisit some blasts from the past? Here goes:

2007: J.K. Rowling

2006: Cast of Grey’s Anatomy

2005: Cast of Lost

2004: Jon Stewart

2003: Cast of The Lord of the Rings

2002: Denzel Washington

2001: Nicole Kidman

2000: Russell Crowe

1999: Ricky Martin

1998: Leonardo DiCaprio

1997: Ellen DeGeneres

1996: Rosie O’Donnell

1995: Cast of Friends

1994: Tom Hanks

1993: Steven Spielberg

1992: Cast of Saturday Night Live

1991: Jodie Foster

1990: Bart Simpson

To read more about all these, and to see a slideshow, visit Entertainment Weekly.

Actors who played gay roles

Philip Wuntch — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:49:47 +0000

At this point, Sean Penn ranks high among probable Best Actor Oscar nominees. The dynamic Penn stars as assassinated gay politico Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant’s Milk, which opened nationwide Nov. 26. There was a time, though, when such a role would have been considered risky. Among those who proved otherwise: Hugh Jackman. What’s this, People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive once played gay? Yes, and he was heaped with praise for it. Although Jackman’s buff performance in Australia, not to mention X-Man Wolverine, helped make him People’s cover boy, he won a Tony as gay entertainer Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz. That musical hasn’t made it to the screen yet, but if it does, you can be sure Jackman will be cast. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Probably the movie world’s most famous onscreen gay couple, they moved critics and moviegoers in Brokeback Mountain(Watch) . But when Brokeback surprisingly lost the 2005 Best Picture Oscar to Crash, Academy homophobia was blamed. Maybe Oscar voters will anoint this year’s Penn as means of erasing that label. Russell Crowe. Six years before Gladiator, Crowe played a good-natured gay in 1994’s The Sum of Us. He and his widowed father bond while searching for appropriate Significant Others. However, Crowe was reportedly offended when he and his rock band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts played San Francisco and gays threw their underwear onstage. Meryl Streep. In 2002’s The Hours, Madame Meryl played a plain-spoken lesbian who vainly tries to keep AIDS-ridden friend Ed Harris from suicide. And near the beginning of her movie career, when handlers discourage such role choices, she played Woody Allen’s ex-wife in Manhattan. When she writes a book explaining how her same-sex relationship had been much more nurturing than her marriage, Woody’s character was not amused. Didn’t hurt Meryl’s career at all.