What? I have no idea why your average everyday person feels disconnected from Hollywood celebrities. I mean, just because the 40th highest earning star made more money in 2010 than most of us will see in our lives couldn't have anything to do with it! Vanity Fair has released their annual list of the biggest moneymakers of the past year, and some people on the list might surprise you. In particular, Taylor Lautner($33.5M) made more than both Will Smith($29M) and Jerry Bruckheimer($27.5). Out of the half dozen movies Nicolas Cage($23.5M) seemingly made last year, he still slipped three spots from 2009. Oh, and Katherine Heigl($16M) had more lucini fallin' from the sky than Reese Witherspoon!($14.5M) Say what!!?
I'm only including the Top 20, but if you want to see the entire list hit up Vanity Fair!
20. Nicolas Cage
ACTOR (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $23.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 17)
$7.5 million: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (fee for starring in upcoming supernatural sequel)
$7 million: Trespass (fee for playing an angry husband alongside Nicole Kidman in upcoming thriller)
$6 million: Drive Angry (fee for playing an angry father in upcoming revenge drama)
$1 million: The Croods (fee for voice work in upcoming DreamWorks animated film)
$2 million: Older film revenue
19. Jon Favreau
DIRECTOR, PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $24 MILLION (2009 rank: —)
$12 million: Iron Man 2 (back-end for directing and producing, based on worldwide gross of $627 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$10 million: Cowboys & Aliens (fee for directing and producing)
$2 million: Older film revenue
18. Jennifer Aniston
ACTRESS (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $24.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 33)
$10 million: Just Go with It (fee for co-starring in Adam Sandler comedy)
$8 million: Wanderlust (fee for starring in upcoming Judd Apatow-produced film)
$6 million: Horrible Bosses (fee for starring in upcoming workplace comedy)
$500,000: Older film revenue
17. Tyler Perry
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER (WME)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $25 MILLION (2009 rank: 11)
$13 million: Why Did I Get Married Too? (back-end for writing, directing, and producing, and share of DVD revenue)
$8 million: I Can Do Bad All by Myself (share of DVD revenue)
$2 million: Precious (share of DVD revenue)
$2 million: Older film revenue
16. Jason Blum and Oren Peli
PRODUCER; WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $26.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 27)
$19 million: Paranormal Activity 2 (for producing, based on worldwide gross of $169 million)
$7.5 million: Paranormal Activity (share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
15. Robert Pattinson
ACTOR (WME)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $27.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 35)
$12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1 (fee for co-starring)
$12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2 (fee for co-starring)
$1.5 million: Water for Elephants (fee for starring alongside Reese Witherspoon in upcoming literary adaptation)
$1 million: Fee for starring in upcoming costume drama Bel Ami; older film revenue, mostly from Twilight franchise
14. Jerry Bruckheimer
PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $27.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 10)
$10 million: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (fee for producing fourth installment of his lucrative Johnny Depp vehicle)
$10 million: Annual first-look production deal with Disney
$7.5 million: Older film revenue
13. Kristen Stewart
ACTRESS (The Gersh Agency)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $28.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 37)
$12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1 (fee for co-starring)
$12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2 (fee for co-starring)
$2.5 million: On the Road (fee for starring in long-aborning adaptation of the Jack Kerouac classic)
$1 million: Older film revenue, mostly from Twilight franchise
12. Joe Roth
PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $28.5 MILLION (2009 rank: —)
$27.5 million: Alice in Wonderland (back-end for producing, based on worldwide gross of $1.02 billion, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$1 million: Older film revenue
11. Will Smith
ACTOR, PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $29 MILLION (2009 rank: —)
$20 million: Men in Black III (fee for starring in upcoming franchise resuscitation)
$5.5 million: The Karate Kid (back-end for producing, based on worldwide gross of $358 million, plus share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$3.5 million: Older film revenue
10. Robert Downey Jr.
ACTOR (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $31.5 MILLION (2009 rank: 28)
$15 million: Fee for starring in upcoming untitled Sherlock Holmes sequel
$12 million: Iron Man 2 (back-end, based on worldwide gross of $627 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$3.5 million: Sherlock Holmes (back-end, based on worldwide gross of $523 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$1 million: Older film revenue
9. Taylor Lautner
ACTOR (WME)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $33.5 million (2009 rank: —)
$12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1 (fee for co-starring in upcoming penultimate Twilight film)
$12.5 million: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 2 (fee for co-starring in upcoming final Twilight film)
$7.5 million: Abduction (fee for starring in upcoming John Singleton thriller)
$1 million: Older film revenue, mostly from Twilight franchise
8. Todd Phillips
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $34 MILLION (2009 rank: 5)
$15 million: The Hangover Part II (fee for writing, producing, and directing)
$13 million: The Hangover (back-end for producing and directing; excludes $39 million earned in 2009)
$3 million: Due Date (back-end for producing and directing, based on worldwide gross of $200 million, as of December 31, 2010)
$2 million: Older film revenue
$1 million: Project X (fee for producing upcoming low-budget comedy)
7. Adam Sandler
ACTOR, PRODUCER, WRITER (WME)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $50 MILLION (2009 rank: 12)
$25 million: Just Go with It (fee for producing and starring in upcoming comedy opposite Jennifer Aniston)
$20 million: Jack and Jill (fee for producing and starring in upcoming comedy with Katie Holmes and Al Pacino)
$3 million: Grown Ups (back-end for starring and writing, based on worldwide gross of $271 million, plus share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$2 million: Older film revenue
6. Tim Burton
DIRECTOR (William Morris Endeavor)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $53 MILLION (2009 rank: —)
$50 million: Alice in Wonderland (back-end for directing, based on worldwide gross of $1.02 billion, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$3 million: Older film revenue
5. Leonardo DiCaprio
ACTOR (Special Artists Agency)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $62 MILLION (2009 rank: —)
$59 million: Inception (back-end for starring in somewhat convoluted Christopher Nolan film)
$3 million: Back-end for starring in somewhat convoluted Martin Scorsese film Shutter Island, older film revenue
4. Christopher Nolan
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $71.5 MILLION (2009 rank: —)
$69 million: Inception (back-end for writing, producing, and directing, based on worldwide gross of $823 million, and share of DVD and pay-TV revenue)
$2.5 million: Older film revenue
3. Steven Spielberg
DIRECTOR, PRODUCER (CAA)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $80 MILLION (2009 rank: 2)
$50 million: Universal-theme-park royalties and consulting fees
$20 million: War Horse (fee for directing and producing upcoming World War I drama)
$10 million: Older film revenue
2. Johnny Depp
ACTOR (United Talent Agency)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $100 MILLION (2009 rank: 21)
$40 million: Alice in Wonderland (back-end for starring in Tim Burton film, based on worldwide gross of $1.02 billion)
$35 million: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (up-front money for starring in next installment of Jerry Bruckheimer’s waterlogged but ludicrously profitable franchise)
$20 million: The Tourist (fee for co-starring in one of the year’s bigger flops alongside Angelina Jolie)
$5 million: Older film revenue
1. James Cameron
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER (Creative Artists Agency)
ESTIMATED 2010 EARNINGS: $257 MILLION (2009 rank: 4)
$248 million: Avatar (back-end for writing, producing, and directing, based on 2010 worldwide box-office gross of $1.95 billion, and share of DVD and pay-television revenue; excludes $50 million earned in 2009)
$5 million: Avatar (share of toy licensing, other revenue)
$4 million: Older film revenue (e.g., back-end and royalties from earlier projects, other payments)