Oscar-winning Director is Also America's Favorite Movie Star

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Press release from Business Wire:

Clint Eastwood is America’s Favorite Movie Star

Johnny Depp is number 2 and, last year’s favorite, Denzel Washington drops to number 3

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--2009 may be the year that brought the movies back. Between Avatar, the latest Harry Potter movie, Julie and Julia, New Moon from the Twilight series, and so many others, box office revenues topped $10 billion – a new record. Clearly people love going to the movies – and within all the various types of movies out there, everyone has their favorite movie star.

This year there is a new number one for the Harris Poll’s favorite movie star list. Hopefully, we’ve made his day; Clint Eastwood is on top, up one spot from number 2 last year. In second place, jumping up from number 8 last year is the man of many characters, Johnny Depp. Dropping from three years spent at number one, Denzel Washington is at number three this year.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,276 adults surveyed online between December 7 and 14, 2009 by Harris Interactive®.

The Usual Suspects
Returning to the list after a one year absence is Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock, and Forrest Gump, or rather Tom Hanks, moves up two spots this year to number 5. He’s both Up in the Air and back on the list - George Clooney is at number six after two years off the list, and, proving that you can have staying power in Hollywood even after you are no longer making movies, John Wayne is on the list at number 7, down from last year when he was tied for number 3.

She has multiple Academy Awards and for the first time she has a place on this list - Meryl Streep debuts at number 7. With his long career, Morgan Freeman debuted last year on the list at a tie for number 9 and this year he holds that spot alone. Rounding out the list is the Pretty Woman herself, Julia Roberts, in at number 10, down four spots from last year.

Gone With the Wind
This year there are three additions to the list from last year, which means that three actors have dropped out of the top ten. Hancock is a distant memory and Will Smith, who was tied for third place, had no movies in 2009 and is not on the list this year. 2008 saw the new Indiana Jones and last year Harrison Ford was number 5 on the list but has dropped off this year. The third to drop was Angelina Jolie, who was tied for number 9.

For Ordinary People
Different groups have their own favorite movie stars. For women, Johnny Depp is number one while for men it is Clint Eastwood. Clint is also on top for the two older generations, Baby Boomers (those aged 45-63) and Matures (aged 64 and older). The younger generations split with Echo Boomers (aged 18-32) going for Johnny Depp and Gen Xers (those aged 33-44) saying Sandra Bullock is their favorite.

The Harris Poll® #11, January 26, 2010
By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States December 7 and 14, 2009 among 2,276 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.


About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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