Sumner Redstone commands power in Hollywood

His status as "king" comes from such successes as buying CBS just in time to profit from the Survivor craze and winning the right to broadcast the World Wrestling Federation on his UPN and TNN stations.

He can also lay claim to the biggest worldwide movie of 2000 with Mission Impossible II, which grossed nearly $550m.

Other influential people in the top 10 include media mogul Rupert Murdoch, director Steven Spielberg and Universal's Ron Meyer and Stacy Snider.

Julia Roberts

Closely behind Hanks in the acting power stakes is Tom Cruise who is currently in talks to star in Mission Impossible 3.

Julia Roberts follows closely behind at number 13, her best actress Oscar moving her up seven places.

Tom Cruise continues his career high

Also featuring in the top 20 are Mel Gibson, Star Wars director George Lucas and DreamWorks SKG founders David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Other notable inclusions in the list actor include; Jim Carrey, former Happy Days star and director Ron Howard and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon director Ang Lee.

Roman epic Gladiator has boosted British director Ridley Scott's rating to number 36, from a lowly 95 last year.

Director Steven Soderbergh has entered the chart for the first time at number 38 following the Oscar success of Erin Brockovich and Traffic.

John Wells of the Writers Guild of America makes his debut at number 97 for his role in talks to improve writers' pay and creative rights.

Leading a strong negotiating team, he is helping to determine whether Hollywood writers go on strike this summer.