Underestimating the Power of Will Smith

Having worked at a movie magazine, I tend to look at most media through a film lense. For example, Forbes new "Celebrity 100" power list. When it comes to actors, their top 15 contains all the usual suspects--Brad Pitt (#5), Johnny Depp (#6), Tom Cruise (#8), Tom Hanks (#11). I could quibble with these rankings (as their number one actor, despite his popularity, cannot consistently open a movie). But my biggest issue comes to where the Forbes folks put Will Smith, way down at #57 (behind Pirates director Gore Verbinski). How does that make any sense? I recommend that the Forbes reporters take a look a Newsweek's recent argument for why Smith is arguably the most powerful actor in Hollywood. But maybe my issue is more with their methodology. Forbes apparently was using media metrics like Google hits and magazine covers in part to gauge popularity, but I'm not sure that equals power in an economic sense (nor does simply looking at what an actor has made in a single year). Smith makes a point of keeping his personal life personal and staying out of the spotlight when he's not promoting a movie. And that's part of the reason why audiences respond to him at the box office (almost every movie he's made since Independence Day has been a global blockbuster). When it comes to ranking the actresses, Forbes list is equally out of touch (Reese Witherspoon behind Jessica Alba?). But here I am talking about their list, so I guess it's serving its purpose.