View source for A-list

{{short description|Person at the very top of their field}}
{{other uses|A-list (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}

An '''A-list''' actor is a major [[movie star]], or one of the most [[bankable star|bankable]] actors in a [[film industry]].

The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide,<ref name=ulmerscale /> and has become an industry-standard guide in Hollywood. American entertainment journalist [[James Ulmer (journalist)|James Ulmer]], the guide's creator, has also developed a version including directors, the ''Hot List of Directors''.<ref name=ulmerscale>{{cite news |url=http://www.ulmerscale.com/aboutHL.html |title=About The Ulmer Scale |publisher=The Ulmer Scale|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111214005830/http://www.ulmerscale.com/aboutHL.html |archive-date=December 14, 2011 }}</ref> The '''Ulmer scale''' categorizes the lists into A+, A, B+, B, C, and D listings. Similarly, in India, there is three-tier strategy, tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3, which are based on the saleability and box office collection capability of a star.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/what-does-three-tier-strategy-mean-for-tamil-heroes/article27465870.ece | title=What's the story behind star-rating meter in Kollywood? | newspaper=The Hindu | date=June 4, 2019 | archive-date=June 17, 2023 | access-date=June 17, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617100148/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/what-does-three-tier-strategy-mean-for-tamil-heroes/article27465870.ece | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Popular usage==
In popular usage outside the film industry, an A-list [[celebrity]] is any person with an admired or desirable social status.<ref>[http://www.ask.com/reference/dictionary/ahdict/176077/a+list American Heritage Dictionary]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013214727/http://www.ask.com/reference/dictionary/ahdict/176077/a%2Blist |date=October 13, 2007 }}</ref> Even [[socialite]]s with popular press coverage and elite associations have been termed as A-list celebrities. Similarly, less popular persons and current teen idols are referred to as B-list celebrities – and the ones with lesser fame as C-list ones.<ref>[http://uk.encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1481579897/B_list.html Encarta]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316012858/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1481579897/B_list.html |date=2010-03-16 }}, [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/B-list Webster's New Millennium Dictionary]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100316012858/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1481579897/B_list.html Archived] October 31, 2009.</ref> In 2000, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' interpreted a C-list celebrity as "that guy (or sometimes that girl), the easy-to-remember but hard-to-name [[character actor]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Erin |last=Podolsky |title=C-list celebrities – Three sites with information on 'that one guy' you see in movies from time to time |url=https://ew.com/article/2000/11/10/c-list-celebrities/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=November 10, 2000 |access-date=April 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425112407/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C278510%2C00.html |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The D-list is for someone whose celebrity is so obscure that they are generally only known for appearances as celebrities on [[Panel show|panel game show]]s and [[reality television]]. In the late 20th century, D-listers were largely ignored by the news industry; for example, [[Paul Lynde]], by this point in his career best known for being on the daytime game show ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'', went largely unnoticed by the [[Tabloid journalism#Supermarket tabloids|supermarket tabloid]]s, and his homosexuality (which would have drawn attention for bigger celebrities) went mostly unreported.<ref name="biography.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/news/tv-stars-of-the-1970s|title=TV Stars Who Ruled the 70s|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=May 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501190925/http://www.biography.com/news/tv-stars-of-the-1970s|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Kathy Griffin]], an American comedian who became widely known for her frequent appearances on such programs, used the term in a tongue-in-cheek manner for her 2005 TV special ''[[The D-List]]'' and her 2005 TV series ''[[Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List]]''. The term "D-list" is derived from the lowest rating used for the Ulmer scale. Other successive letters of the alphabet beyond D, as in the terms ''E-list'' and ''Z-list'', are sometimes used for exaggeration or comic effect but effectively have the same meaning as ''D-list''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blalock|first1=Meghan|title=The 50 Most Infamous D-List Celebrities of All Time|url=http://stylecaster.com/d-list-celebrities/|website=stylecaster.com|publisher=stylecaster.com|access-date=2 September 2016|archive-date=August 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831031913/http://stylecaster.com/d-list-celebrities/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)]]
* [[Famous for being famous]]
* [[Leading actor]]
* [[Superstar]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Wiktionary|A-list}}

[[Category:Celebrity]]
[[Category:Cinema of the United States]]
[[Category:Film and video terminology]]