除了荣誉和名声，奥斯卡还能给电影公司和象朱莉亚·罗伯特这样的电影明星带来更多的东西，那就是一笔横财……
In addition to glitz, glamour, and a taste of glory, the Academy Awards
can provide something more: a huge financial windfall for films, movie
studios and stars like Julia Roberts and Russell Crowe.
Roberts, the favorite to win the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance
in Erin Brockovich, already earns a cool $20 million per picture. The 33-year-old
star first joined the club of actress earning a million dollars per picture
after being nominated for an Academy Award in 1990''s Pretty Woman.
Slideshow: Oscars, Stars, and Salaries
"She has both critical and commercial acclaim," says David Davis, an entertainment
industry analyst for the investment bank Houlihan, Lokey, Howard and Zukin.
But Crowe, who has had a far lower profile for years before breaking through
with Best Actor nominations for The Insider last year and Gladiator this
time around, could find his reputation and earnings power further solidified
by an Academy Award. Already the Australian has signed on to star in the
upcoming movie A Beautiful Mind for $15 million.
"Your price tag naturally goes up," says Paul Dergarabedian, president
of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. "It''s the crown jewel
of a career."
It marks a long and spectacular rise to stardom for Crowe, who in 1997
dismissed the idea of an eight-figure payday for making a movie: "If I
get paid $10 million, that''s the last bloody movie I''m going to make,"
he told a reporter for the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass.
Words：
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nominate [v] 提名
Academy Award 奥斯卡奖
stardom[n] 演员的身份
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon《卧虎藏龙》
mainstream[n] 主流
prestige[n] 声望，威信
remiss[adj] 玩忽职守的