When Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists in 1919, it was a groundbreaking attempt to enable the “creative” people in the filmmaking process to have more control over the films themselves. When then-head of Metro Pictures, Richard A. Rowland, heard about the forming of UA, he said, “The inmates are taking over the asylum.”

The perceived insanity of the formation of UA mattered little in the long run. The bold move marked the beginning of the end of the studio system, and set the stage for the current business model, where actors and directors have very powerful sway over their pictures.

A-List Directors

Steven Spielberg. His list of successes, both as a director and producer, has earned him a reputation that evokes respect from his peers, delight from audiences, and downright glee among investors. But few other directors can get a film started with such ease. Even highly successful names like Woody Allen, Oliver Stone, Spike Lee, or Lawrence Kasdan often have to have a major star in hand before getting the go-ahead.

A-list director (or writer/director) production companies include:

• Ed Zwick, The Bedford Falls Company

• Garry Marshall, Henderson Productions, Inc.

• Ivan Reitman, The Montecito Picture Company

• James Cameron, Lightstorm Entertainment

• Penny Marshall, Parkway Productions

• Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Conundrum Entertainment

• Robert Zemeckis, ImageMovers

• Spike Lee, Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Inc.

• Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks SKG

A-list actor/director-driven production companies include:

• Ben Stiller, Red Hour Films

• George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, Section Eight Productions

• Kevin Costner, Tig Productions, Inc.

• Rob Reiner, Castle Rock

• Ron Howard, Imagine

A-List Actors

Some say it's talent. Some say good looks. Some chalk it up to charisma. But the fact is, an actor who brings the most people into a theater is the one who also makes it easiest to get a movie made. For this reason, action stars are always at the top of the list. Not only does an action film translate better worldwide (compared to a romance or comedy), but it also reins in the target demographic of American males between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five.

An example of this is the film adaptation of the comic book Judge Dredd, which was originally optioned by producer Charles Lippincott with the intention of budgeting $10 to $15 million on the film — the largest amount his small company had ever spent at the time. They were having difficulty raising that much money until Sylvester Stallone agreed to play the title role. Not only did the production budget jump to $90 million almost overnight, but investors were suddenly fighting for the opportunity to give money to Lippincott and his company.

In 1994, Harrison Ford was presented with an award from the National Association of Theater Owners, naming him “Star of the Century.” This was in recognition of what theater owners consider most important, namely appearing in the most films that brought in the most people. To date, Ford has generated enormous film revenue. All of his films in total have a domestic box office gross of over $3 billion, and over $5 billion worldwide.

Passion for Production

Following in the footsteps of the original “united artists,” many actors have their own production companies. Usually they have a first look deal in place, which means a major studio covers them for things like office space, expenses, and staffing in exchange for first right of refusal to material they acquire for production. Often the projects are straight production deals, and don't necessarily involve the actor being in front of the camera.

A few A-list actors with production companies include:

• Charlize Theron, Denver and Delilah Films

• Drew Barrymore, Flower Films

• Hugh Jackman, Seed Productions

• Jennifer Love Hewitt, Love Spell Entertainment

• Julia Roberts, Red Om Films, Inc.

• Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, LivePlanet

• Mel Gibson, Icon Productions

• Morgan Freeman, Revelations Entertainment

• Pierce Brosnan, Irish DreamTime

• Reese Witherspoon, Type A Films

• Sandra Bullock, Fortis Films

• Tom Cruise, C/W Productions

• Tom Hanks, Playtone Company

By fully funding his 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson and his company Icon Productions took all the risk, and reaped substantial rewards as a result of the film's enormous box office success. By the summer of 2006 the film had grossed over $370 million domestically and over $600 million worldwide. Although production companies are sometimes derided as “vanity” companies, given by studios to assuage an actor's ego, many actors have used these companies to their own advantage, often becoming genuine power players.