The
A-list is a term that alludes to major
movie stars, and/or the most
bankable in the
Hollywood movie industry.
The A-list is part of a larger guide called
The Hot List that has become an industry-standard guide in Hollywood.
James Ulmer has also developed a
Hot List of directors.
Ulmer Scale
The list was created by veteran entertainment journalist
James Ulmer, who developed a 100-point method to quantify a star's value to a
film production, in terms of getting a
movie financed and the cameras rolling.
The Ulmer Scale also takes into account an actor's history (
box office successes vs. failures), versatility, professional demeanor, and ability and willingness to travel and promote movies.
The Top 10 list as of 2009 (in order of 'bankable' value)
[http://www.ulmerscale.com/Mainarticle.html retrieved 6-12-2009] :
Former incarnations of the list included:
Popular usage
In popular usage outside the movie industry, an "A-list
celebrity" simply refers to any person with an admired or desirable social status. In recent times, the term has given rise to any person, regardless of profession, in the limelight, even socialites with popular press coverage have been termed as "A-List" celebrities. Similarly, less popular persons and current teen idols are referred to as "B-list." The lowest ranking on the Ulmer Scale is a "C-list." An article on
Entertainment Weekly describes a C-list celebrity as "that guy (or sometimes that girl), the easy-to-remember but hard-to-name
character actor."
Though the term "D-list" does not exist on the Ulmer Scale, it is often used to describe persons whose celebrity is so obscure that they are generally only known for appearances as so-called celebrities on
reality television.
Kathy Griffin, a comedian who became widely known for her frequent appearances on such programs, uses the term in a tongue-in-cheek manner for her TV series
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.
See also
