A blonde Southern beauty with a fearless attitude – which some described over the years as foolhardy – Cybill Shepherd was a former beauty queen who rose to fame in the early 1970s, after a star-making turn in director Peter Bogdanovich’s Oscar-winning “The Last Picture Show.” Her fame waned by the middle of the decade, thanks to a string of flops and a highly public break-up with her Svengali director/boyfriend, Bogdanovich, but she returned with a vengeance as the sassy P.I. Maddie Hayes on the smart TV comedy, “Moonlighting” (ABC, 1985-89) and as campier TV version of herself on the hit sitcom, “Cybill” (CBS, 1995-98).

A tall, soft-spoken and leathery leading man who, since the 1960s, has diversified into directing and producing after achieving iconic status, Clint Eastwood arose from the world of television westerns to become the number-one box-office star in the world, and subsequently earned critical acclaim as a director. His production company, Malpaso, has crafted moderate-budget features that range from mainstream fare to personal and ambitious endeavors. Eastwood is not entirely part of the Hollywood establishment—his business is run out of Carmel, California, on the Monterey Peninsula, where he has also served as mayor and ran a restaurant.

 A gifted performer who developed her talent at a young age, Cate Blanchett grew into exceptional actress who achieved international acclaim with her stunning Oscar-nominated turn as a young Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur’s “Elizabeth” (1998). Prior to that role, the engaging Australian found herself thrust in the spotlight with just her third feature, "Oscar and Lucinda" (1997), starring opposite Ralph Fiennes. As the headstrong proto-feminist heiress whose penchant for gambling draws her to a clergyman with the same predilections, Cate Blanchett delivered a star-making performance that garnered the attention of filmdom’s most esteemed directors. Alluring, yet elusive and possessing an innate intelligence coupled with malleable features – she sometimes seemed plain, but beautiful, often in the same shot – the actress quickly rose to international fame to become one of Hollywood’s most respected and revered talents.

Saying that a man who directed “Raging Bull,” “Taxi Driver,” “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “The Departed,” and many more has helmed some great films isn’t exactly stepping out onto a ledge. Saying that that very same man’s best work is in front of him? Now we’re talking!

Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island,” (or “Ashecliffe,” we’re not exactly sure) is shaping up to be one of the famed director’s best, co-star Mark Ruffalo said.

Perhaps no actress had a faster ride to the top than Cameron Diaz, who was launched into stardom with “The Mask” (1994), her first-ever onscreen performance. Though originally slated for a minor role, Diaz won over the movie’s producers with her unique charm and looks, and took on the lead actress role with verve.

Trying to cast the lead role of Mel Coplin, an adoptee searching for his biological parents in the wake of his own son's birth in the comedy "Flirting With Disaster" (1996), writer-director David O. Russell knew what he wanted: "a young Dustin Hoffman type, who was kind of urban, kind of smart and ethnic." Ben Stiller, the only son of the venerable husband-and-wife comedy team of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, convinced Russell that he could fill the bill. Increasingly busy before and behind the camera, the curly-haired, quirkily handsome actor-writer-director seemed well poised to become the poster boy for Generation X era comedy--regardless of his stated discomfort with such a designation. With decisive roles played by nepotism, "Saturday Night Live" and MTV, Ben Stiller's swift career trajectory may be somewhat paradigmatic to those for whom the name "Barrymore" evokes "Drew" before "John" or "Lionel".