Traditionally in early December pre-Christmas shopping becomes the top priority for the majority of the world. But Hollywood never gives up. To bottom-line the year it launches a worldwide message through well-orchestrated mass-media: “And the potential Academy Award winners of the 2010 among top film stars are…”
It works well every year. We all buy stacks of DVD films, to watch them at home during our Christmas vacation and we also plan to go to the movie with our families.
Most of us are the victims of Hollywood’s cat-and-mouse game: all of us need to entertain ourselves. Besides, we are all curious: who will snatch the golden boy statuettes now?
Hollywood has a perfect system of promotion. Films garner positive reviews, then win festival awards and ultimately reach a major commercial success grossing millions and billions worldwide. And the film stars are of paramount importance for this system.
This December Russian websites voted on their annual 10 top choice winners among US movie stars. As we checked out this Top10, surprisingly, we found a Ukrainian, a British and an Australian.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis, or Milena Markovna Kunis, is of Ukrainian descent. She was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, with a family including an engineer and a teacher. In 1991 she moved with her family to Los-Angeles. Her Hollywood career started with a Barbie commercial, followed by minor and supporting roles in soaps.
In 2008 she performed as Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, portrayed Mona Sax, a Russian assassin, in the action movie Max Payne and Solara in the action The Book of Eli. In 2010, she won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival for her performance as Lily, rival ballet dancer of Natalie Portman, in Black Swan. Today Mila Kunis is ranked one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood.
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter was born in London. Her mother is a psychotherapist. Her father was a banker with the Bank of England and was their representative at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. He came from a famous British political family, the grandson of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Helena Bonham Carter’s maternal predecessor was a diplomat and Minister-Counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Bonham Carter did not receive any formal training in acting. However, in 1979, she won a national writing contest and used the money to pay for her entry into the actors’ directory Spotlight. At 16 she made her professional acting début in a television commercial. She then had a part in the TV film A Pattern of Roses before appearing in her first leading role in Lady Jane.
Helena Bonham Carter is best known for her role of Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View, Marla Singer in the film Fight Club, Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films, her Oscar-nominated performance as Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove, her BAFTA-nominated performance as Enid Blyton in Enid, her Golden Globe-nominated performance as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Robert Downey, Jr.
Robert Downey, Jr. takes one of the leading positions among top 10 actors of the year. He was born in New York. His father is an actor, writer, director and producer, and his mother is also an actress. Downey had minor roles in his father’s films: at the age of five he debuted in the comedy Pound (1970) and at seven in the Greaser’s Palace (1972). He studied classical ballet at school in England, grew up in Greenwich Village and started his acting career at the off-Broadway in New York.
Downey grew famous for the lead role in Chaplin (1992), which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He lived through 5 years of scandals, arrests and a painful drug recovery before he returned to his career and starred in commercially successful blockbusters in 2008: an Academy Award nomination Tropic Thunder and Iron Man.
In 2009 Downey’s ninja-like title character in Warner’s box office-crasher Sherlock Holmes garnered him the Best Actor Golden Globe and the film became No. 8 among top-grossing films of 2009.
Johnny Depp
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jeff Bridges
Among the Hollywood 2010 toppers are world-known actors (no comments here).
Johnny Depp
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jeff Bridges
Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington is an English-born Australian actor. His father was a power plant employee, his mother was a housewife. Sam dropped out of school, worked on construction as a bricklayer and had odd jobs.
He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art and successfully debuted in the Australian film Bootmen, and then in TV series. He won Best Lead Actor by the Australian Film Institute for his part in Somersault (2004) and starred in Australian version of Macbeth (2006).
His Hollywood film career began with his small role in The Great Raid (2005) filmed in Australia. Recently he became a Hollywood’s most successful actor for the role of Marcus Wright in Terminator: Salvation (2009), the lead role as Jake Sully in the Avatar (2009), Perseus in Clash Of The Titans (2010) and Captain Alex Mason in Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010).
Steve Carell
Steve Carell is an “America’s funniest man”. He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in the Television Comedy Series for his lead role in The Office (2006), People’s Choice Award for Best Comedic Actor (2008) and Emmy nominations (2006, 2007) for his performance in the series.
And, finally, two more ambitious and young US actors.
Taylor Lautner
James Franco
James Franco
Taylor Lautner
