So go on then, from May 2010 to May 2011 who was the best paid man in Hollywood? Steven Spielberg? Leonardo DiCaprio? James Cameron mopping up cash from Avatar? Nope, it was Tyler Perry, who made a whopping $130 million according to Forbes.
Perry's is a name many people in the UK may never have heard, as many of his films, such as Madea's Family Reunion and Meet The Browns failed to get a cinemas release over here, and a lot didn't ever get onto DVD for years. However over in the States they're insanely popular, with the writer/actor/director's flicks regularly reaching the top of the box office charts, largely because of their stunning popularity within the African-American community.
However the real reason for Perry's enormous wodges of cash is that because he managed to find box office success with grass roots efforts outside the Hollywood machine, it allowed him to put together a deal with Lionsgate that means he keeps total control of his movies, along with most of the profits (Lionsgate is essentially just the distributor, while Perry is the studio), and as his films cost little to make, it's made him an astonishingly rich man.
It's all money Hollywood could probably have had if they paid attention to what was going on in the African-American community. Perry was already a millionaire before he made his first movie, based on the huge success of plays he wrote and starred in (that introduced his Mades character, who appears in many of Perry's films), which were incredibly famous among black Americans but pretty much unknown outside. If a major studio had signed him then, he'd just be a hired gun, but because they didn't, he is essentially his own movie mogul.
Perry's popularity and unique deal means he's outperformed the likes of Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer to be the best paid person in Tinsel Town. If you're interested in who else makes the Top 10 - which covers all of entertainment and not just film - take a look below.
1. Tyler Perry ($130 million)
2. Jerry Bruckheimer ($113 million)
3. Steven Spielberg ($107 million)
4. Elton John ($100 million)
5. Simon Cowell ($90 million)
6. James Patterson ($84 million)
7. Dr. Phil McGraw ($80 million)
8. Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million)
9. Howard Stern ($76 million)
10. Tiger Woods ($75 million)
(Thanks to /Film for the tip)