51 ROSEANNE AND TOM ARNOLD
Actors-producers, fun couple
Rank last year: 80 (Roseanne alone) Ages: 39 (Roseanne); 33 (Tom)
Why they're up: ABC's Roseanne remains No. 1, its audience only
getting bigger. High point: The recession episodes have been
knockouts. Low point: The gratuitous nose job. Roseanne, when we
said, ''Don't ever change,'' we meant your face, too. Next big move: Look for ABC to boot Coach from Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. to make room
for Tom's Jackie Thomas Show. Yes, she'll guest-star. Bottom line: Having weathered every kind of bad publicity, they're indestructible.
52 ALAIN LEVY
President, CEO, PolyGram
Rank last year: Age: 45 Why he's up: With such labels as
Mercury, Island, and A&M, London-based PolyGram has increased its
share of the U.S. record market to 15 percent, third behind Warner
and Sony. High point: Billy Ray Cyrus' debut Mercury album, Some Gave
All, sold 4 million copies. Last big move: PolyGram, which already
owns Propaganda Films, A&M Films, and Working Title, recently bought
51 percent of Interscope Communications (producer of The Hand That
Rocks the Cradle).
53 JOSHUA BRAND/JOHN FALSEY
TV producers
Rank last year: Rising Ages: 41 (Brand); 40 (Falsey) Why
they're up: Three offbeat series on three networks: CBS' Emmy-winning
hit Northern Exposure snagged a two-season commitment, NBC heard the
critical raves and brought back I'll Fly Away, and ABC gave the duo's
new med-school drama, Going to Extremes, a dream Tuesday-night time
slot. Low point: Rise and Shine, their first sitcom pilot, didn't get
picked up by NBC. Bottom line: The duo has replaced Steven Bochco as
the premier producer of quality TV.
54 ROBERT SHAYE
Chairman, CEO, New Line Cinema
Rank last year: 48 Age: 53 High point: The Lawnmower Man, which
grossed more than $32 million, played to the mass audience, while
Robert Altman's The Player, with $20 million, played to the class
audience. Low point: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me played to no
audience. Next big move: Glengarry Glen Ross will receive a major
Oscar push. Bottom line: By keeping costs low, New Line has
prospered. But with Freddy Krueger and the Ninja Turtles waning, New
Line badly needs a new franchise.
55 QUINCY JONES
Multimedia mover
Rank last year: In flux Age: 59 Why he's up: His Quincy Jones
Entertainment (which is 50 percent owned by Time Warner) expanded
into a new field with the September launch of the hip-hop magazine
Vibe. Meanwhile, his TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air became a
success for NBC in its sophomore season, and his latest musical
protégé, Tevin Campbell, kept turning out hit singles. Next big move: Jones and Francis Ford Coppola plan to coproduce a film of Curt
Gentry's biography of J. Edgar Hoover.
56 STEPHEN KING
Scary-book author, screenwriter
Rank last year: 63 Age: 45 Why he's up: Another year, another No.
1 best-seller: Gerald's Game. And while other horror films died at
the box office, two with King's name on them did well: Sleepwalkers (his first original screenplay) and The Lawnmower Man (which he
disowned for bearing little resemblance to his story). Next big
moves: Castle Rock is mounting a big-screen version of King's
Needful Things, and ABC, which aired the hit miniseries Stephen
King's It, is working on a small-screen version of The Tommyknockers.


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