Ever wonder why the credits at the top of a movie poster don’t line up with the people they’re announcing? You might look at a poster or a movie case and see the names that run across the top and notice that they’re not in order at all. As in, the person standing under the name is someone completely different. Well Hollywood doesn’t do this on accident, it’s entirely on purpose, and it’s called Top Billing.
One thing you need to remember about Hollywood is that it’s all about money, influence, and how a person can maintain the acquisition of both throughout their career. Top billing means that they’re not only at the upper end of the spectrum as far as star power goes, but that they’re receiving the greatest salary for the movie. Let’s use the movie above for an example. When Wild Hogs came out Tim Allen was the most influential actor of the entire bunch, meaning that he was the most popular and he had the most pull when it came to getting top billing. Therefore since, as Americans, a lot of us read from top to bottom, left to right, his name appears in the top left, where it’s bound to be noticed first. That’s the top billing spot.
That’s why the names on movie covers and posters never line up. The main protagonist is almost always featured in the center of the graphic, slightly off to the right, with the supporting actors and/or villain flanking them to one side or another. The top billing won’t change along with the position of the main characters, since it’s been all important for so long and has determined just who is the most important figure in the film.
It might not make a lot of sense that some people get placed so low on the billing since some people are far more prevalent in their film. This has more to do with how important an actor is, not how much time they spend onscreen. A good example is Superman. Christopher Reeves didn’t get top billing for the film despite the fact that he played the titular hero. Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando, the two well-known screen legends that were also in the film, got top billing simply because they were that popular.
This also isn’t about to change since Hollywood agents tend to play the money game along with everyone else. The more often their clients can get the top billing the more money they will get. This translates to more money for the agent, which means that the agents are going to fight to the death, metaphorically-speaking, to get their client’s top billing. Some actors even have a clause in their contracts that assures them top billing no matter what.
This might seem like a very petty and childish way to get a person’s name out there as much as possible but in Hollywood it’s the way the game is played. Until popularity is no longer the measuring stick by which actors are granted top billing this is how it will work.
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