1. Foster is the only one who can act consistently. The others need considerable coaching from directors. Of course, Foster also directs and is about 10 times smarter than the rest of that list too.

Posted at 12:04PM on Nov 30th 2007 by YouFaceTheTick

2. I'm with YouFaceTheTick, Jodie Foster is probably the only one who deserves the paycheck, that is if as you said Kidman can redeem herself with Margot at The Wedding and Golden Compass.

The rest are overpayed and overrated. I avoid movies with Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie, and well most of the list! After what she did to the Bond franchise, and Catwoman, Halle Berry is toxic to me.

Posted at 12:28PM on Nov 30th 2007 by KMF

3. Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet... and Nicole Kidman should watch out, Naomi Watts is sneaking up to take her spot in Hollywod should she continue to do the stinkers.

Posted at 12:31PM on Nov 30th 2007 by Rufus

4. Foster is a good actress.

The others, by and large, are reason enough for me to avoid a movie. I can't remember the last time I willingly watched something with any of those actresses. Nicole Kidman I liked until maybe 3 years ago. Julia Roberts was good until the late 90s. Angelina Jolie isn't always terrible.

The rest are like the plague for me. Especially Renee Zellweger and Drew Barrymore, both of which I'll actively avoid under any and all circumstances.

Posted at 2:43PM on Nov 30th 2007 by MosquitoControl

5. "Since winning an Oscar for her performance in Walk the Line, Witherspoon has starred in Just Like Heaven, Penelope and Rendition..."

whenever i read articles about movies that reese witherspoon has done after winning the oscar, just like heaven always pops up. however, just like heaven came out in september '05 and walk the line came out in november '05. granted, walk the line did do telluride and toronto in september, but to the general movie going public we saw reese as a ghost before we saw her as june carter)

with that said, how exactly is it this figured out? do you go by the release date of the film? or which film wrapped production first? or when all the filming for that specific actor is complete? anyone with any insight please let me know....

Posted at 2:53PM on Nov 30th 2007 by NPH

6. Who cares whether they deserve it? if they can earn it then they should ask for it, this is business not some sort of favour or generousity. These are businesswomen asking to be paid for their time and good for them especially since they are mature women and not some ditzy twenty-something. As for Kidman, she doesn't need to do any redeeming, her performances in MATW and The Golden Compass are incredible and if critics/award bodies actually open their eyes and see what is in front of them, they will realise that she is one of the few actresses out there, even with the rubbish mainstream fares she has done, doing more than taking part in the same roles being dished out and offered to various actresses. She has consistently done interesting and unusual character driven roles centred around the female character. No other actress have had roles like Anna in Birth, Diane Arbus in Fur, Margot in MATW (this is the role Annette Benning thought she had in Running With Scissors and the performance she wanted to give but couldn't). Characters/roles that seem to confuse critics because they are not so eaily labelled.

It will take sometime before Watts takes over, sure, she is getting great roles and giving great performances but Hollywood doesn't seem particularly interested in giving her any glory. Remember, Peter Jackson was all about making her huge, King Kong came and went, she might as well have been one of the mountains/hills located where King Kong lived. She has been on the same level for the past 6 years.

Kidman earned less this year because she cut her price for MATW, TGC, Australia and The Reader. If she goes for another mainstream glitzy movie, they WILL pay her $16-17m. Hasn't Jolie made about 4 movies this year?

On Foster, she does good work because she sticks to what she knows, when was the last time she leapt off the screen at you outside of the thriller genre.

Posted at 3:06PM on Nov 30th 2007 by akilis

7. Watts is nearing 40 and she makes mostly bad movies. She's not a threat to anybody's paycheck but Debbie Reynolds.

Posted at 4:26PM on Nov 30th 2007 by YouFaceTheTick

8. Who cares whether they deserve it? if they can earn it then they should ask for it, this is business not some sort of favour or generousity. These are businesswomen asking to be paid for their time and good for them especially since they are mature women and not some ditzy twenty-something. As for Kidman, she doesn't need to do any redeeming, her performances in MATW and The Golden Compass are incredible and if critics/award bodies actually open their eyes and see what is in front of them, they will realise that she is one of the few actresses out there, even with the rubbish mainstream fares she has done, doing more than taking part in the same roles being dished out and offered to various actresses. She has consistently done interesting and unusual character driven roles centred around the female character. No other actress have had roles like Anna in Birth, Diane Arbus in Fur, Margot in MATW (this is the role Annette Benning thought she had in Running With Scissors and the performance she wanted to give but couldn't). Characters/roles that seem to confuse critics because they are not so eaily labelled.

It will take sometime before Watts takes over, sure, she is getting great roles and giving great performances but Hollywood doesn't seem particularly interested in giving her any glory. Remember, Peter Jackson was all about making her huge, King Kong came and went, she might as well have been one of the mountains/hills located where King Kong lived. She has been on the same level for the past 6 years.

Kidman earned less this year because she cut her price for MATW, TGC, Australia and The Reader. If she goes for another mainstream glitzy movie, they WILL pay her $16-17m. Hasn't Jolie made about 4 movies this year?

On Foster, she does good work because she sticks to what she knows, when was the last time she leapt off the screen at you outside of the thriller genre.

Posted at 3:09PM on Nov 30th 2007 by akilis

9. Who cares whether they deserve it? if they can earn it then they should ask for it, this is business not some sort of favour or generousity. These are businesswomen asking to be paid for their time and good for them especially since they are mature women and not some ditzy twenty-something. As for Kidman, she doesn't need to do any redeeming, her performances in MATW and The Golden Compass are incredible and if critics/award bodies actually open their eyes and see what is in front of them, they will realise that she is one of the few actresses out there, even with the rubbish mainstream fares she has done, doing more than taking part in the same roles being dished out and offered to various actresses. She has consistently done interesting and unusual character driven roles centred around the female character. No other actress have had roles like Anna in Birth, Diane Arbus in Fur, Margot in MATW (this is the role Annette Benning thought she had in Running With Scissors and the performance she wanted to give but couldn't). Characters/roles that seem to confuse critics because they are not so eaily labelled.

It will take sometime before Watts takes over, sure, she is getting great roles and giving great performances but Hollywood doesn't seem particularly interested in giving her any glory. Remember, Peter Jackson was all about making her huge, King Kong came and went, she might as well have been one of the mountains/hills located where King Kong lived. She has been on the same level for the past 6 years.

Kidman earned less this year because she cut her price for MATW, TGC, Australia and The Reader. If she goes for another mainstream glitzy movie, they WILL pay her $16-17m. Hasn't Jolie made about 4 movies this year?

On Foster, she does good work because she sticks to what she knows, when was the last time she leapt off the screen at you outside of the thriller genre.

Posted at 3:10PM on Nov 30th 2007 by akilis

10.

Like most everyone else, I think Foster is the best actress in the current high-paid bunch.

Sidenote: Methinks Amy Adams & Kelly Macdonald will be joining those ranks soon. Their performances (respectively) in Enchanted and No Country for Old Men both made me go "wow."

Posted at 3:24PM on Nov 30th 2007 by Luke G.

11. Now Amy Adams...she deserves a paycheck. Isla Fisher's also stepped up nicely in small but memorable roles. And I agree with folks about Cate Blanchett and the likes of say Francis McDormand but sadly their top earning years have passed.

Posted at 4:28PM on Nov 30th 2007 by YouFaceTheTick

12. Out of the list, I agree with the statements about Foster. And Rufus beat me to it with Cate Blanchett. Meryl Streep should be on top too. And Helen Mirren should creep up the list a ways as well.

Of course, salary is largely based on popularity, not actual ability. Or more accurately, perceived popularity since a lot of these names haven't opened a film well in a while.

Posted at 6:30PM on Nov 30th 2007 by Chris