•A-Listers -- Conventional wisdom has it that, in an age when movies can be marketed on the basis of familiar titles or 3-D special effects, A-List stars are not only supe<A href="http://www.51guangzhouescort.com">guangzhou escort</A> rfluous, they're also no longer any guarantee of good box office. That certainly seemed to be the case this summer with such under-performing stars as Nicolas Cage ('The Sorcerer's Apprentice'), Jake Gyllenhaal ('Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'), Jennifer Aniston ('The Switch') and Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz ('Knight & Day'). Jury's still out for Russell Crowe (whose <A href="http://www.slittingmachinery.net">slitting machine</A>expensive 'Robin Hood' barely cracked $100 million stateside, though it did twice as well overseas) and Julia Roberts (whose 'Eat Pray Love' has been only a modest hit, with $61 million earned so far in its three weeks of release).

•Jerry Bruckheimer -- The producer's lavish, effects-driven<A href="http://www.thermometermanufacturer.cn">Pressure Gauge Manufacturer</A> action spectacles (most famously, the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise) have grossed billions of dollars, but this summer, his formula failed him not once but twice, with costly flops 'Prince of Persia' and 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice.' Could it be that audiences are <A href="http://www.papercuttingmachine.cn/guillotine.html">guillotine</A>actually demanding some story and characters with their action, or that not just any videogame or cartoon short can be turned into a mega-budget franchise?