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Billing (Film)Billing is a film term denoting the order in which information about a movie is presented. Usually, billing is presented in the opening credits of a movie, however in some cases (most notably Steven Spielberg movies), billing is at the end of the movie. Information given in billing usually consists of the actors starring in the movie, the directors, producers, the studio producing the movie, and technical crew. The title of the movie is also considered to be part of the billing. Generally speaking, the order in which items are billed signify their importance to the film. For example, the first item billed is usually the motion picture company, followed by the director, producer, major starring actors, the title of the movie, then the rest of the starring actors. The order in which starring actors are billed are usually always directly related to the actor's status in the film industry or role in the film. Top Billing The actor whose name appears before any other actors in the film has top billing. The top billed actor is generally the main star in the movie, has the most screen time, and is generally the hero of the movie. Seasoned actors/actresses such as Tom Hanks, Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise are often given top billing in the movies they star in. Top billed actors are almost always featured on movie advertisements such as trailers, posters, billboards and TV spots. Having a particular actor at top billing can often draw audiences to see a movie based solely on who is starring in it. The two or three top-billed actors in a movie will usually be announced prior to the title of the movie. Those introduced after are generally considered to be the supporting cast, not the actual "stars" of the movie. Actors that may have higher status in the industry won't always get top billing. For example, if a major actor only played a small role in a movie, they would most likely not receive top billing. Top billing would go to the actor whose character was the main focus of the movie. Some major actors starring in movies may have a cameo, where they are not included in the billing, only noted in the cast during the end credits. Equal Billing If more than one name appears at the same time or size, those actors have "equal billing", with the importance of the actors included decreasing from left to right. Notes Most movies only attach billing order to the title sequence. The full cast listing in the closing credits usually list the actors alphabetically, or in the order of appearance, however many movies still list the cast in order of the billing.
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