"At what point will Hollywood give up on Jennifer Aniston?" "Exactly why is she a movie star?" "Jennifer Aniston and the curse of Friends". All recent headlines sniggering at the run of films starring the lovable 41-year-old actress, culminating in The Switch - which, naturally, bombed at the box office last month.
But write off Aniston at your peril. For in a new list of Hollywood's most bankable stars, recently released by Forbes magazine, she sits pretty at No 6. That's right; her CV might feature He's Just Not That Into You and Marley & Me, and three of her last four films have been total flops, but Aniston is still, somehow, a banker when it comes to making money for the film studios.
To be clear, this isn't a list of the world's richest actors (although last year she was Hollywood's second biggest earning actress, too). Instead, Forbes calculates "most bankable" by measuring how much profit a film makes against how much it cost to hire the star in the first place. In essence, it's like an index of which actors are the best value for the money.
So, for example, at the top of the list is the Transformers and Indiana Jones star Shia LaBeouf. For every US$1 the studios spend on employing the 24-year-old, his films return an average $81 profit. In Aniston's case, she generated $21 per dollar invested - mainly because The Bounty Hunter (a truly dreadful action rom-com) was actually something of a success, taking $136 million at the global box office on a budget of $40m.
Of course, that does immediately suggest that Aniston (and LaBeouf for that matter) probably requires less remuneration than top-level Hollywood actors such as George Clooney, Matt Damon or Leonardo DiCaprio. And slightly depressingly, women make up half of the Top 10, Forbes points out, because typically they earn less than men.
Second to LaBeouf is Anne Hathaway, who starred in probably the worst film of 2009 (Bride Wars) but was propped up by the huge success of Alice in Wonderland. In between Hathaway and Aniston are Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe, Robert Downey Jr and Cate Blanchett - hardly D-list actors performing in forgettable films.
Forbes's most bankable list is interesting, but in the end it's a slightly confusing and convoluted index. And it's not the only guide to the world's most valuable actors. For years, one of the most respected lists was The Ulmer Scale, created by the entertainment journalist James Ulmer in 1997 to quantify the worth of a film star. More in depth than the Forbes list, it takes into account a staggering 100 other factors besides the box-office performance of the films themselves: the star's value to getting a film green-lit, their versatility, their willingness to travel and promote the films, and so on.
And if this sounds tiresomely industry-focused, it is - the list is available only as a $199 book and became something of a must-have for movie executives desperately trying to eke out the biggest possible returns from future movies. But The Ulmer Scale has seeped into the public consciousness in one rather notable way, though. Back in 1997, Ulmer came up with a new and memorable term to group the filmstars at the top of his tree. He called it "The A-List".
In recent years, Ulmer's index has admittedly become less influential: the years in which it publishes are more erratic and some of the results slightly odd. But the last one, in 2009, remains interesting, if only because it seemed to signal a gradual changing of the old guard. The relative failure of Tom Cruise's last film, Knight And Day, had many critics observing that perhaps his days as a big draw were coming to a close. But if Knight And Day's producers had consulted The Ulmer Scale - which in previous years had placed Cruise in the upper reaches of global stardom - they may have come to that conclusion well before the cameras had started rolling. For Cruise was nowhere to be seen in a Top 10 that was headed by Will Smith, Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt.
Interestingly, LaBeouf was big news on that list too, as the actor who had gained the most "star power" since the last index in 2007. It suggests that he may well become the Will Smith of his Hollywood generation.
But what does this 24-year-old have to do to get there? First of all, he has to guarantee box-office success for a film, simply by virtue of being in it. Currently, he's not at that level: Transformers might be a huge blockbuster series, but fans watch it because they want to see a special-effects-laden robot action movie, not LaBeouf. Still, top billing in a forthcoming Oliver Stone movie (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) is a step in the right direction - as is the "romantic action movie" The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman, which appears to have been green-lit simply because LaBeouf signed up for it.
It would also help his career if he was in a critically acclaimed film or two in the decade to come. By the time DiCaprio was LaBeouf's age, he'd already starred in What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet - two roles for which he gathered widespread praise. Star status was confirmed with Titanic, which proved he could take on the blockbuster roles, too. In fact, seven of the actors in The Ulmer Scale's Top 10 had enjoyed Oscar nominations by their mid-30s. Even Smith, who, after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV series, shot to fame in crowd pleasers such as Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men in Black, was sure to take regular detours into meatier material, such as the boxing biopic Ali.
So with the exception of Will Ferrell, the types of people on The Ulmer Scale, and many other lists like it, aren't, on the whole, typecast genre actors. Depp is just as comfortable playing Captain Jack Sparrow as the author of Peter Pan. Clooney can be both a wise-cracking bank-robber and a slightly melancholy frequent flyer who makes people redundant.
All of which, of course, doesn't fully explain why Aniston can still make $21 for a studio for every dollar invested in her. After all, she appears to have forgone any notion of artistic development by simply playing the same character - the single woman unlucky in love - over and over again. But typecasting does not concern her, nor should it: she remains one of the world's most famous and recognisable actresses simply by popping up three times a year in unchallenging comedies.
Perhaps the example of Aniston, though, is a lesson to everyone who would try to quantify and explain the strange, unpredictable process by which actors become stars and films become hits. After all, just 11 days before Forbes's most bankable list was published, the very same writer penned that "at what point will Hollywood give up on Jennifer Aniston" article. As the Oscar-winning Bette Davis once said: "I don't take the movies seriously, and anyone who does is in for a headache."
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
WITHIN%20SAND
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Moe%20Alatawi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Ra%E2%80%99ed%20Alshammari%2C%20Adwa%20Fahd%2C%20Muhand%20Alsaleh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
