Here's the Scoop...
For the fifth year in a row, Sofia Vergara has taken the number one spot atop Forbes annual highest paid TV actresses list ahead of Kaley Cuoco and Mindy Kaling.
The list, released Wednesday, has Vergara taking in $43 million before management fees and taxes which, according to Forbes, is the highest any television actor made in 2016.
The 44-year-old's big payday stretches beyond money made off of Modern Family as it also includes her lucrative endorsement and licensing deals for products such as Head & Shoulders and CoverGirl.
Last year Vergara was tied for first with The Big Bang Theory star Cuoco who now resides in second place having earned $24.5 million, mostly for her role on the long-running sitcom as Penny. Notably, Cuoco has the biggest TV contract for an actress earning $1 million per episode.
Rounding out the rest of the top five is Mindy Kaling of The Mindy Project with $15 million, Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit with $14.5 million and Ellen Pompeo from Grey's Anatomy who also earned $14.5 million.
Collectively, the Top 15 list, which also includes stars Kerry Washington, Stana Katic and Priyanka Chopra among others, brought in a combined $208.5 million which is up from the combined total of $165 million from last year.
Wow, that's a lot of money!
Be Well,
Steve
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Stan Lee's life rights acquired by Fox for action-adventure film
Stan Lee has optioned off his life rights to Fox in order for the studio to craft an upcoming action-adventure film based on his life.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 1970s based project being produced by Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey (Twilight, The Maze Runner, Power Rangers), will not be a biopic but will instead be closer in tone to Kingsman: The Secret Service or classic James Bond films.
Lee will remain involved with the film, signing on as executive producer alongside his partner at POW! Entertainment, Gil Champion.
No further details including a potential cast or directors have been revealed.
Lee, a legendary comic book creator and former chairman of Marvel Comics, is known for writing and co-creating Marvel's staple of iconic superheroes including Spider-Man with artist Steve Ditko, and The Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, X-Men, Iron Man, and The Hulk amongst others with artist Jack Kirby.
The 93-year-old has continued to make his presence felt by appearing in comedic cameo roles across Marvel's film slate including Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises and most recently in Disney and Marvel's Captain America: Civil War.
Lee last made headlines in August when he defended the rumored casting of former Disney channel star Zendaya as Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man's iconic red-haired girlfriend in Marvel and Sony's upcoming epic, Spider-Man: Homecoming.
LOOSE LIPS:
"It's very difficult when something I consider so personal plays out very publicly. The aftermath of the relationship was way more heavily publicized than the relationship itself."
--Calvin Harris, on his split from Taylor Swift, to GQ
??? Guess Who ???
Which modern music and entertainment icon said he's open to a collaboration with Britney Spears?
Dan Aykroyd and others to honor Bill Murray at Mark Twain award ceremony
Bill Murray will be honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in an upcoming PBS special featuring Dan Aykroyd, Bill Hader, and Sigourney Weaver.
Also scheduled to make an appearance are David Letterman, Roy Blount Jr., Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Kimmel and Murray's older brother Brian Doyle-Murray.
The award, handed out yearly by the Kennedy Center, has previously been bestowed on Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Carol Burnett, among others.
Murray is being recognized for his decades in the industry which started in 1977 as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Murray went on to star in more than five dozen films, including Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), The Razor's Edge (1984), Ghostbusters (1984), Groundhog Day (1993), Rushmore (1998) and Lost in Translation (2003).
The award ceremony will take place on Oct. 23 and will air on PBS Oct. 28.
??? Guess Who ???
Which modern music and entertainment icon said he's open to a collaboration with Britney Spears?
Justin Timberlake said he's open to collaborating with former girlfriend Britney Spears after the star named Timberlake as an artist she'd like to work with.
E! News correspondent Marc Malkin told Timberlake, who was on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival, that Spears said she was interested in a possible collaboration.
"She did? Sure! Absolutely, absolutely," Timberlake responded.
"I have a 17 month old so I don't get the headline news," he joked. "I apologize for not being in the know. I'm accessible! Give us a call!"
Timberlake was in Toronto to promote his new Jonathan Demme-directed concert film, Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids, which premieres on Netflix in October.