Actor Will Smith has succeeded Johnny Depp as the top money-making movie star of 2008.

The Independence Day actor came first in the annual Quigley poll, dethroning Depp who took the 2007 crown.

Smith is only the second African-American star to top the list, with Sydney Poitier placed first in 1968.

Newcomers in the survey include Robert Downey Jr, Christian Bale and Shia Labeouf, who came in second, third and fourth respectively.

Anne Hathaway was named a star of tomorrow along with Chris Pine, who plays Captain Kirk in the upcoming Star Trek remake.

Tom Cruise, who has topped the list seven times since 1983, did not appear in the top ten, and last year’s winner, Depp, also failed to make the 2008 list.

The Quigley Poll has been conducted every year since 1932 and asks cinema owners and film buyers to vote for the 10 stars they believe generated the most box office revenue for their theatres during the year.

I added to the gallery 9 pictures from Celebrities Attend Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers - December 28. You can see the pictures Below

I added to the gallery the first stills of Sherlock Holmes. They are HQ. You can see the pictures below.

James Thoo at JoBlo.com was brushing up on his Bulgarian news and stumbled upon a story at iBox.bg saying Colin Farrell will be starring with Ed Harris in The Way Back for Peter Weir (The Truman Show). The film is based on “The Long Walk: the true story of a path to freedom”, a book by Slavomir Ravich which was first published in 1956 and tells the account of a young Polish cavalry officer who was arrested by the Russians, tortured and sentenced to 25 years forced labour. Describes his 3 month journey from Moscow to the prison camp in Siberia, his escape with 6 companions and their journey across the Gobi desert to Tibet and freedom. A lot of people have been talking about Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke this year as they have made impressive comebacks with Iron Man and The Wrestler, but for some reason little to nothing
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Brad Brevet // From Rope of Silicon | From IMDB

While many people involved in the production of “Iron Man 2″ remain mum on the sudden replacement of Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr. apparently has something to be said on the buzzed-about topic. Playing it coy about his reaction to the replacement, the 43-year-old insisted to MTV News, “I had nothing to do with that decision.”

“I love Terrence very very much. That’s all I’ll say because I haven’t talked to him yet,” Downey Jr. further added. Making sure that he doesn’t play favorites between the two actors, the “Charlie Bartlett” actor also praised Cheadle saying, “I’ve always admired Don [Cheadle].”

Meanwhile on the swap issue itself, he commented, “It’s one of those situations where I still don’t quite know what happened or why. Here’s what happens too: things happen and you wind up commenting on them before you’ve actually talked to the people and it’s in poor taste.”

On his priority on the “Iron Man” sequel, he revealed, “I think the important thing with the ‘Iron Man’ franchise is to not do too much too soon and to make sure we don’t piss off the public that put us in the position we’re in. We’ve just got to keep rolling up our sleeves higher and further up the elbow.”

In late October, the replacement of Terrence Howard, the actor who plays Lt. Col James Rhodes in “Iron Man”, by his “Crash” co-star, Don Cheadle, in “Iron Man 2″ has been confirmed. Though it was not explained why Howard’s role is given to Cheadle, many suggested that the recasting may be grounded from the financial differences. Nonetheless, “Iron Man 2″ will still be penned by “Tropic Thunder” co-scribbler Justin Theroux and is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2010.