Forbes Magazine named Harrison Ford the highest earning Hollywood actor of the last twelve months after the actor accumulated just under $65,000,000 in profits from his starring role in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In order to lure him back to work, Paramount made a deal with the actor that he could split the profits (after the studio covered its production costs) with Spielberg and creator George Lucas.

 

The sixty-six year old actor rose to super stardom as Han Solo in George Lucas's Star Wars and went on to further Hollywood success with box office hits, Witness, The Fugitive, and Air Force One. Ford's twenty-first century output has been less than thrilling in forgotten pictures such as Hollywood Homicide (2003) and Firewall (2006). We won't mention other flops like Six Days Seven Nights.

 

Even after the huge success of Ford's return to Indiana Jones, his reign as the whip-savvy hero appears to be at an end... More >> ..

Hollywood power couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are the proud owners of a $17.55 million Pacific Palisades ranch house once owned by Hollywood movie legend Gregory Peck. The couple, however, purchased the property from its most recent owner, A-list film producer Brian Grazer, who shared a "Best Picture" Oscar with Ron Howard for A Beautiful Mind.

Built in the 1930s, the Cliff May-designed home was considered innovative in its time for its flowing design and large picture windows. Peck lived on the property from 1947 to 1952 with his first wife, Greta.

The 8,800-square-foot home was completely updated and expanded by Grazer when he bought the property in the mid-1990s. There are five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a swimming pool, a guesthouse, and an office/gym/art studio-plenty of room for a fast-growing family.

Actor Ving Rhames has listed one of his Brentwood homes for $6.85 million (he owns another home nearby). The 5,900-square-foot home was purchased for just under the asking price in August 2006, when the market was far more seller-friendly, so Rhames will earn little or no profit on this sale.

Built in 1993, the property has four bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, Palladian windows, vaulted ceilings, enormous rooms for entertaining, a mahogany library, a grand staircase, and a gourmet kitchen.

The property features mature trees, a grassy yard, a pool, a pergola, fountains, and a large two-story guesthouse.

A Beverly Hills French Normandy-style mansion, originally listed for $45 million, recently sold for $31.5 million, securing the title of Most Expensive Home Sold in CA in 2009. Pessimists could say that the previous owners were lucky to get that price, but if you're an optimist, then no doubt you're thinking, "Well, hell, at least someone in this town still has money."

 

I could start rumors that U2's guitarist, The Edge, has added yet another home to his twenty-plus-item Malibu real estate portfolio, but his purchases are all around the $500,000 to $1,500,000 range. I'd love to hear your thoughts about who you think could afford such a property in the entertainment capital of the world.

 

So what do you get for $31.5 million? Well, for starters, the three-story home totals 27,000 square feet and sits on two acres of land. There are ten bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, and seven fireplaces... More >> ..

Mel Gibson's divorce from his wife of 28 years could cost the actor millions of dollars, according to celebrity divorce lawyer Raoul Felder. Gibson and his wife, Robyn Moore, were married in 1980. Since there's no indication that a prenuptial agreement was made, it seems that Moore is entitled to half of everything Gibson has earned since the beginning of their marriage-and estimates for her share are over the $500 million mark. Gibson's 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ alone earned $600 million worldwide, which means that the Gibson split is the most moneyed Hollywood divorce ever, surpassing even Steven Spielberg's $100 million divorce in 1989 from actress Amy Irving.

Gibson's wife also has a stake in his upcoming projects-around a dozen films are currently in various stages of development. Plus, she's entitled to half of all the residual checks he receives from any film he made while they were married... More >> ..

Diane Keaton's 1927 Beverly Hills home is on the market for $11,995,000. The Oscar-winning actress has a hobby of buying and refurbishing early-twentieth-century Los Angeles homes, then lovingly restoring them to their original splendor. Keaton is a member of America's National Trust for Historic Preservation, which helps restore Los Angeles architecture that's almost as old as Keaton herself-pretty darn ancient, at least in L.A. terms. Keaton's avocation keeps her busy in between her acting gigs, which is important, given that roles for women over 50 are few and far between in Tinseltown.

The Spanish Colonial Revival home was built by architect Ralph Flewelling and features an inner courtyard with a fountain that stands between the kitchen and the family room on one side and the media room and den on the other side.

Totaling 7,145 square feet, the house has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, including a master suite with dual bathrooms and a separate guest suite... More >> ..

Talk about dwarfing all other big-shot properties in Hollywood-you haven't seen anything yet! One of the biggest and most expensive mansions in the world is up for grabs. Candy Spelling, wife of the late, great television titan Aaron Spelling, has listed the family estate for a near-record-breaking $150 million. Go ahead and read it again . . . $150 million!

Aaron Spelling built the French chateau-style mansion, dubbed "The Manor," in 1991 at the height of his success. Spelling, who produced worldwide television hits including Dynasty, Charlie's Angels, and Beverly Hills 90210, died in 2006, leaving his home and fortune to his wife Candy. Her reasons for selling are plain and simple: she has stated that she's moving onto a new chapter in her life. She's also lost touch with her daughter Tori, so she doesn't feel she needs the super-sized home.

So what do you get for $150 million? Well, for starters, fifty-seven thousand square feet with at least 11 bedrooms (Candy lost count) and 16 bathrooms... More >> ..

Mel B of the Spice Girls has listed her Mount Olympus home for $2,999,000. She bought the 3,476-square-foot home in August 2007, and since then has invested $1 million in a makeover that includes an über-chic contemporary-style master bathroom with generous quantities of glass and gray-veined marble throughout.

The property's tropical grounds include ornate landscaping, a saline pool, a spa, three waterfalls, an outdoor living room complete with a flat-screen entertainment system, and a Viking kitchen. Eight security cameras equipped with night vision keep everything safe.

The house also has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and an open floor plan for entertaining: there's a spacious living room, an elegant dining room, and a casual kitchen area whose walls of windows flood the interior with glorious sunlight.

When Michael Jackson announced his fifty-show European tour, every concert sold out within hours. At £50 a ticket, that should keep Michael in the money and thus living the lifestyle to which he's accustomed.

For those who were unable to secure tickets to the show, England's eBay has ticket packages listed for £49,999 and up. Some of these packages include VIP status, after-party packages, and limousine service.

Possibly in celebration of the strong ticket sales, Michael Jackson went shopping at L.A.'s underground art Mecca, the La Luz de Jesus Gallery on Sunset. The gallery is known throughout Los Angeles as the definitive resource for underground art. Money is, however, apparently still somewhat tight for the masked musician, because he tried to bargain with gallery owner Billy Shire: he asked for a 35 percent discount on a painting worth an undisclosed amount. Hilariously, Billy said "no" to the musician, so Jackson paid in full... More >> ..

I have Grey’s Anatomy to thank for many things: reliable weekly drama; the average (i.e., jealous and fiercely competitive) man’s newfound interest in mousse and a comb; and most importantly, the Mc’s. McDreamy’s the original; there’s really no argument here. McSteamy’s a smokin’ addition. And while I don’t recall a McNickname for Denny—I was probably distracted by his puppy-dog eyes—I rush to my couch every Thursday just to see him, even if he is a ghost.

 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays Denny and is currently in the action flick Watchmen, has come a long way over the past few years. To celebrate Watchmen’s opening-weekend success—or rather in anticipation of its success, since the celebration took place before the film’s release—McPuppy-Dog Eyes has purchased a new Studio City house for $1,900,000... More >> ..

Everyone's favorite jilted celebrity, Jennifer Aniston, is pretty hardnosed when it comes to romance in He's Just Not That Into You. But it turns out that our Jen is a lot less decisive about real-life real estate than her on-screen persona is about her love life. A friend of the actress reports that Jennifer has been remodeling her glamorous pad for more than two years and simply cannot make up her mind about what she wants. In 2006 she purchased the gorgeous $13.5 million, six-bedroom, 9,105-square-foot house in Beverly Hills; the home was designed by renowned architect Hal Levitt. Aniston is in good company in her neighborhood-neighbors include Simon Cowell and best friend Courtney Cox.

Her friend went on to say that Jennifer is driving the contractor crazy and has paid more than $1 million to update the 1972 house. She's changed the windows, converted the shower into a recording studio (yes, you read that correctly), and made countless other design improvements... More >> ..

Ugly Betty star America Ferrera has listed her Beachwood Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills for $1,685,000. The young celebrity bought the property through a trust in early 2008 for $1,415,000, but now that Ugly Betty's production has transferred to the East Coast, America has left the building.

The 3,427-square-foot home was originally built in 1993 and was refurbished for Ferrera. It contains three and a half baths, an open floor plan, vaulted ceilings, a master bedroom with breathtaking views, and an adjacent office and balcony. The entire house is wired for sound, and there's also a two-car garage. Outside, 6,520 square feet of property boast a fiberglass heated pool and spa.

I hope that Ferrera enjoyed her space while she had it, $1.6 million wont land you anything close to her LA pad in New York city.

Oscar winner and Bridget Jones's Diary star Renée Zellweger has been asked by attorney Allen Michel to hand over her real-life diary. Michel represents an insurance company that paid nearly $6 million for a seven-week delay in shooting during the Toronto filming of 2005's Cinderella Man (the delay occurred when leading man Russell Crowe dislocated his shoulder). Zellweger's agent negotiated a $3 million payment for the star in the wake of the delay, which presumably affected filming schedules for her other projects.

Michel told a judge in Los Angeles on Friday that he wants Renée to hand over her diary, give a deposition, and provide other substantiating documents to clarify her actions during the delay. The insurer is denying liability for the money paid to Renée, who isn't named as a party to the lawsuit.

One can only hope that Renée's diary is as entertaining as that of her celluloid doppelganger, and that the entries include nods to overeating, unrequited love, and petty jealousies...

Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and his wife have been allowed to pursue a lawsuit against real estate agent Gregory Holcomb and Sotheby's International Reality. The couple seeks more than $1 million plus punitive damages, and accuses Holcomb and Sotheby's of misrepresenting a Hollywood Hills "party" house they bought in 2006 and later sold. Slash claims the house was smaller than advertised and was set on a public street with party-pooping parking restrictions.

A judge will allow Sotheby's to dispute punitive damages; their attorney, Fredric Trester, says he's confident they'll win.

President Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday will be the most expensive in American history: the $150 million price tag dwarfs the inauguration budgets of Presidents Bush and Clinton combined.

I know what you're thinking. How can such a phenomenal price tag be justified during a depression? Well, Obama's star status is luring an estimated two million people-possibly more-to descend on Washington, D.C. this week, hiking costs for adequate security, public transportation, and, of course, Portajohns. Expected stars include Rihanna, Beyoncé, Oprah, Tom Hanks, Sting, and others. Although these glitterati will most likely not be fighting the hoi polloi for access to the bathroom facilities, take note-there will be just one restroom for every 6,000 people! Women coiffing for the trip at a top Beverly Hills salon were recently overheard sharing their secret weapon . . . Depends.

The federal government had budgeted $49 million for the inauguration, an amount in line with the cost of previous inaugurations... More >> ..

With the third season of E! Network's Keeping Up with the Kardashians hitting screens in March, Kris Kardashian has been busy selling the Hidden Hills home where the reality TV show is filmed. She has listed the property for $3,395,000.

Kris Kardashian was married to the late Robert Kardashian, who was on O. J. Simpson's defense team during O. J.'s infamous murder trial. Kris is now married to former
Olympic decathlon champion Bruce Jenner; both bring four kids to the family table from their former marriages. Add that brood to the two children produced by their own coupling, and the family is outfitted to bring viewers a football team's worth of prime time reality TV shenanigans.

Their current home is just shy of 4,000 square feet and includes four bedrooms, five
bathrooms, a fabulous gourmet kitchen with granite counters and stainless steel appliances, a pool, a spa, and a patio. The master bedroom suite boasts a marbled bath and walkout veranda... More >> ..

An anonymous fan, apparently endowed with more money than sense, has purchased Scarlett Johansson's snotty tissue on eBay.com for $5,300. Okay, so the sale was for charity-but still, it has to make you worry which famous body fluid will be auctioned off next. Ick!

Johansson recently appeared on Jay Leno's Tonight Show complaining of the sniffles she'd caught from her fellow co-star, Samuel L. Jackson, on the set of their latest feature, The Spirit. Leno offered her a tissue and suggested that Johansson blow her nose and auction the effluvium off for charity; the rest is history.

USA Harvest was the lucky recipient of the greenbacks raised by the sale, but who was the crazy snot shopper? If the auction does start a trend in these downtrodden economic times, celebrities had better beware. Let's hope that the next time they're blowing their nose at a top Hollywood hotel, they remember to flush the tissues...

Hollywood's most famous bachelor pad, where ABC's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette were filmed, was recently put on the market for $13 million and then reduced to the bargain price of $8.75 million. It's a sign of the times when even romantic rich folk can't risk splashing out on prime real estate to wine and dine their prospective girlfriends or boyfriends. And that's a shame, because the Villa De La Vina fairly drips with romance.

This 200-year-old Spanish Revival-style house, set within the Santa Monica Mountains of Malibu, boasts a 4,000-square-foot accessory building with a solar-heated saltwater swimming pool surrounded by arched aqueduct spillways, two spas, and a swim-up barbeque and bar. These digs could even seduce yours truly, L.A.'s certified-terminal bachelorette writer.

You like parties? Well, with ten acres of interior and exterior event space, plus views of the canyon, mountain, and vineyard, what's to stop you? Nine bathrooms certainly don't hurt your party plans... More >> ..

This fall was privy to Hollywood firsts and backstabbing at its finest. Director Catherine Hardwicke's teen phenomenon Twilight grossed $70 million at the box office in its first weekend and made Hardwicke the first woman director ever to dominate Hollywood with such a high return. Stephanie Meyer's adapted first novel has already grossed $160 million in its first few weeks, and Hardwicke had been duly touted as the industry insider who finally shifted Hollywood from a male-dominated arena for the production of testosterone theater (this is, remember, the same Hollywood that recently declared Nicole Kidman "box office poison" because she's a woman) to a more even playing field. Hardwicke also proved that teenage girls, all but forgotten since Leo and Kate's Titantic days, are still and always will be a viable and lucrative audience. But Twilight's producer, Summit Entertainment, fired Hardwicke mid-promo junket after demanding that the second installment of the franchise begin principle filming in the new year-it seems Hardwicke wasn't ready... More >> ..

When it comes to the checklist of essential ingredients for a James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace doesn't disappoint in the hard-and-fast action department. As soon as the cinema lights dim, the audience is thrust into an exciting car chase in Siena, Italy in which our hero destroys yet another gorgeous automobile. This time around, it's the stunning (and stunningly expensive) Aston Martin DBS. At the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show this past week, the famous Bond car was in full view and commanded a $273,000 price tag. One anonymous Bond fan, however, paid a whopping $352,000 for the totaled Aston Martin that landed at the bottom of Italy's Lake Garda in the movie's sensational opening sequence.

Malibu's queen diva, Cher, is moving on from the $45 million mansion she built on Pacific Coast Highway. However, her neighbors may not even notice. Her faux Italian Renaissance estate is so grand and accommodating that the singer never has to leave-
when she visits no one gets a glimpse of her striking black, blonde or otherwise-colored hair. Locals say she comes to town only often enough to redecorate her now empty home (since auctioning off all of her belongings two years ago on a whim).

Palm trees line the property, and the house overlooks the ocean and sits on 1.7 acres of bluff above the Pacific. The 14,000 square foot main house has 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, a theatre, and gym, and almost every window and door leads to a veranda. Other necessities include a tennis court, pool, spa, and of course, a guest house.

Nicole Kidman returns from country living with country music singer husband Keith Urban and their daughter, Sunday Rose. They secured their contemporary style Beverly Hills abode for $4,795,000 from music producer Ron Fair. The home is secluded from the riff-raff that is Hollywood in a gated community and has 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and 4,100 square feet for the trio to rehearse lines, play a tune, or drool all over the new carpet. And there are breathtaking views of the canyons and a grassy play area for Sunday Rose and Keith to dance in. She'll soon be staring in the movie version of the Broadway hit, "Nine" with Daniel Day-Lewis and Penelope Cruz. Yes, life couldn't be sweeter for Nicole; unless Keith took some couch jumping lessons from her ex-Top Gun. No doubt Nicole and Penelope will have fun sharing stories about the couch jumper.