Apr 10, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX) —
SPIELBERG IS NO. 1 ON HOLLYWOOD POWER LIST
Steven Spielberg is No. 1 on Premiere magazine’s 2003 Power List of the 100 most influential people in Hollywood.
The director of “Catch Me if You Can” knocked off AOL-Time Warner honchos Richard Parsons and Robert Pittman to finish on top of this year’s list, moving up from No. 6 last year. The rest of the Top 10 are all producers, including George Lucas — who last year directed the fifth “Star Wars” movie.
“Spielberg is the Tiger Woods of the movies,” said Premiere’s Editor-in-Chief Peter Herbst, “the guy who’s so talented, smart, and hard-working that he seems to be playing a different game than everyone else.”
The most bankable movie stars in Hollywood right now, according to Premiere, are Tom Hanks (No. 13), Tom Cruise (No. 14), Mel Gibson (No. 15) and Julia Roberts (No. 16).
Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman jumped from No. 83 to No. 31, and Oscar-nominated actress Renee Zellweger went from No. 97 to No. 63. The biggest jump of all was Reese Witherspoon, who went from No. 96 last year to No. 32 on this year’s power list.
Jack Nicholson came in at No. 74, after not making the list at all last year. Some newcomers to the list include Tobey Maguire (“Spider-Man”), director Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and writer Charlie Kaufman (“Adaptation”). Colin Farrell (“Minority Report,” “Daredevil”) also made the power list.
Halle Berry made the list, but only came in at No. 96 — after a year in which she won a Best Actress Oscar and scored a blockbuster hit, co-starring with Pierce Brosnan in the latest James Bond picture.
The list also includes producer Brian Grazer (No. 18), producer Jerry Bruckheimer (No. 19), “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson (No. 20), “Signs” writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (No. 21) and director Ron Howard (No. 26).
Denzel Washington moved up from No. 40 last year to No. 28 this year, and “The Matrix” directing team of Andy and Larry Wachowski is No. 27 this year — up from No. 89 last year.
(Thanks to UPI’s Pat Nason in Los Angeles)
