After earning just $500K for her role in The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence is cashing in big for installment number two and is set to pull down $10M. Yeah, that is a lot of money. The question is whether she can start getting $10M for every movie she is in and I don't think so. I could be in The Hunger Games and it would still make money. The thing she has going for her is that it is tough to switch stars after you have already filmed the first one. Why risk losing audience members? Just pay the $10M and convince people they need to see it in IMAX for $3 or $4 more and there you go. Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson are also getting raises. Now, I just need to wait for a year before it comes out.
A 2000% pay raise? Good for you, Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteShe only got 500k for the first one? She's an Oscar nominee.
ReplyDeleteGood going, if the Twilight group got it why not you...
ReplyDeleteJust evening the books. After Winter's Bone, she should have gotten $3 mil for headlining Hunger Games. Ten million is a little high to for the sequel but $7 million would be surely fair. So it averages out.
ReplyDeleteBack end deal, similar to RDJ. Good for her, wish it was me.
ReplyDeleteCan't freaking wait for Catching Fire to come out ever since they announced Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Honey Bunny (pulp fiction) to the cast! Now cast Finnick correctly and I'll be happy. I think that handsome man with the greenish blue eyes from greys anatomy..jesse something? Cast him now.
ReplyDeleteI miss Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteit's normal the movie was a success and she's the lead.When you read Scarlett Johansson will be paid $20 millions for the next Avengers movie,explain me why?
ReplyDeleteGood for Jennifer! She deserves it.
ReplyDeleteI miss Harry Potter too.
ReplyDeleteI finished the Hunger Games series last night and am thoroughly disappointed. Will never read anything by that author again. Hastily finished endings to all 3books.
I was happy, mostly, until halfway through the third book. Then I became unhappy and just stayed that way.
Deletesomewhat ot, but it blows my mind to think people make this much money. i cant seem to find a job that will allow me to make more than $18000 a year and i have a college degree. its not that i have a problem with making that little money, the problem is paying of student loans and a car loan because i needed something more reliable. it feels like i will never be free of it.
ReplyDeletesorry, that just all kinda came out.
I understand. I have 20 years of corporate business experience and I am making less than half what I used to. Take 18k and keep looking. There is truth to the fact you will get a better paying job when you have one. Just my two cents. :)
DeleteI understand. I have 20 years of corporate business experience and I am making less than half what I used to. Take 18k and keep looking. There is truth to the fact you will get a better paying job when you have one. Just my two cents. :)
Deleterejectedcarebear Jesse Williams and omg I love looking at him! Great Eye Candy!
ReplyDeleteAmen, @faye. Seems like the system is set up for failure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sadie! I remember him from this laaaame tv melodrama that would air after Degrassi. He should be Finnick, those wonderful eyes!
ReplyDelete@faye - I feel your pain. I could buy a house with what I owe in student loans. I plan to run away to South America when it gets to to be too much.
ReplyDeleteI came on to say Congrats to Jennifer! But I agree that it seems odd to pay our entertainers so much and our teachers, policemen, et al so little. Backwards priorities IMO.
I think she deserves it. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and probably knows that this kind of payday won't be permanent.
ReplyDeleteAs for Finnick, I think Ryan Kwanten would be good. He may be a bit too old, but that's OK.
Mmmm....Ryan Kwanten
DeleteHe's hoooot!
DeleteGood for her. I haven't watched HG yet but I did see Winters Bone. She was so good in that movie. I'm still shocked that Kristen Stewart beat her out for a part but I guess that's what happens when you sleep with directors and such.
ReplyDeleteJust remember folks - the gross pay scale is not always what ends up in the pocket. For example, oh let me see here - just a random example - let's consider the allegations of a superhero actor purportedly getting a zillion from the Avengers film. Consider about 35% of that in taxes (at the S-corp rate on local, state, and fed taxes), another 30% to agents, lawyers, managers, and accountants. You are left with around 45% when the dust settles.
ReplyDeleteThen you have to pay for an army of PR teams, employees, and more taxes and witholdings atop that. By the end of the day you might have enough for a Mocha and a ham sandwich. (Okay, a little more but still not near the supposedly $100 million or whatever the tabloids lead you to believe some actor may earn).
Yes, it IS an insane amount of money for someone to earn. But if a film tanks and there's no sequel (not to mention your career is toast), then no one marvels at your income. It is a risk. Especially when you sign the contract for a multi-picture deal many years out and way before the script is even developed. It is a gamble.
Do people come unglued when LeBron makes his fortune? No, because he earns it and elevates the income for the whole team (and company franchise). All of that money doesn't go into an actor's pocket.
In the case of an ensemble like Avengers, the success of it also elevates ALL of the actors, investors, and crew earnings (especially for sequels). Again, if it sucks? You end up with little more than SAG scale. Which is why back-end gross deals are so key to success. With a negative cost of a big film being 100 million (or more) today, a studio cannot afford to pay any actor $25 million up front. So the actor puts his money where his mouth is, and takes a small upfront and a big backend. Ask Joss how much HE made! I promise it was more than reported, but he also has employees to pay (and taxes, fees, dues, etc.).
Sorry to ramble, I know this is not Inside James Lipton's Living Room. I'm also not expecting sympathy when most people slave their asses off for very little these days. But if anyone thinks it is easy carrying a massive film, with the careers of many good people in the balance? I encourage you to grab a camcorder, make your own film, and go for it. I'm not being bitter nor sarcastic - seriously, just go for it. Most of you could likely make better films at home than could most studios these days.
I just wanted to clarify that sometimes it is not always as advertised by tabloids. Those big paydays pay a LOT of people, not just the star. Even then, it is still a risk.
And yes, it is wrong that entertainers, athletes, and hedge funders make more than police, firemen, doctors, nurses, or teachers. All people who save or affect lives.
ReplyDeleteBut we didn't invent this paradigm, it is just how it is. Which is why some entertainers take their earnings and try to help others with it and underwrite those who DO make a difference in others' lives. It is not fair, but life generally is not. All we can do is try to make it better ourselves, which is what some of us do.
I love her and think she is one of the best actresses around her age. If you look at the money Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts make, even though they are both horrible, $10 million is nothing. Jennifer is extremely talented and I'm glad she's being appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSecond Ryan Kwanten as Finnick. When I read the books he is who I imagined.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining Himmmm. I loved the Avengers. I even bought my Ozzy loving husband the shirt RDJ wore in the movie. Much love for him(mmm), the rest of the cast, and my beloved Joss Whedon.
ReplyDeleteBack end deals are nothing new. The only reason so much money is made is because, well, many of us CONSUMERS choose to pay for 'entertainment' as though it should be in our monthly budgets. Me, lucky I like books. And it will be a gosh darn cold day in May before I dole out limited $ for an Iron Man sequel made in China. OK, so maybe I am not unfamiliar with pirating :)
ReplyDeleteI figure, and friends agree who know money, that with $4m you can retire at any age easily. You would never see me again after a few movies.
ReplyDeleteThe system seems to be set up to reward jobs that support more jobs. I understand what Himmmm is saying.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked she only got 500k for the 1st installment playing the lead. It wasn't exactly a no budget Sundance bait film. They owe her at least 10 million from the profits of the 1st movie. Good for her.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with actors, writers, athletes or any people who entertain millions of people getting a slice of the $10 ticket I bought or the TV contract in sports. They deserve it more than the studio head and team owner leaches.
ReplyDeleteOff topic, but someone in comments was joking yesterday about a question and said "Maybe we should put out the bat call and ask Himmmm". Who/what was it about? It's going to drive me nuts (and maybe it worked!)
ReplyDeleteFirst thing I thought of when I saw Himmmm :) lol
Delete"Again, if it sucks? You end up with little more than SAG scale."
ReplyDeleteOnly for a pure-points deal, and those are fairly rare. I've always assumed that those no-down-but-20-gross-points deals must have some kind of minimum payout clause, because the talent might be willing to gamble but their agents want a guarantee of some return on their time for setting up the deal.
As a writer I loathe the stories of stars asking to have scripts "tailored" (i.e., mangled) to suit themselves. But if you're a Clooney or a Damon gambling 4-8 months (typical production-schedule lockup for a big film) of your very valuable time on a pure gross points deal...I can kind of understand.
@Sunny, Yes !
ReplyDeleteRuby and RenoBlondie
"Robert Pattinson Goes Boozing In Ojai".
Take the money and run baby!
ReplyDelete@Agent
ReplyDeleteThat's it!!! I think we could make quite the crime fighting Duo. Typically I have an amazing memory - I think it might even freak some of the other readers out because I recall tidbits they posted months and months ago (Don't you work in a prison? Aren't you having an overseas romance? You're going back to school, right?) It's seriously my party trick and I love seeing that bewildered look on people's faces when they tell me "You remembered THAT?"
Sunny- I'm a bit like you as well, but I'll admit you have a much better memory! However, I do think I know of the posters you mention in your examples! I have such a freakish memory, I win at every trivia game.
Delete@rejected
DeleteHa ha - I love it! My best friend and I drive her husband nuts when we're together. "No, you weren't dating Josh at that party 8 years ago. You were wearing your red pants, and you didn't buy those until 2005". One time we "forgot" he was with us in Malaysia when we were in one of our 300 details-from-the-past covos and when we looked over you could tell he was praying for death (sidenote - They weren't involved romantically then. We were all just friends)
@Sunny, embarrassed to say I remembered only because I was fascinated about the antlers:)
ReplyDelete@himmmm - thanks for explaining that. it sheds a new light to it.
ReplyDeletethe weight was resting a little heavy on my shoulders. just have to keep moving and hold my head high. im better off than a lot of people in the world, and thats why i need to keep helping them, even when i think i cant. my day will come. :0)
@himmmm
ReplyDeleteThanks for the long explanation. It's easy to forget about the crew of folks behind the actor. I have a lot of friends who provide industry support and feel a bit guilty for my whining. They would be out of work too without the big stars.
Also a bit of thanks for acknowledging the life savers and affect-ers. And encouraging us to be more loving and compassionate! Thank you for choosing to give back and share your resources with the rest of us. I know things are the way they are, but if enough people get fed up maybe we can create a new and better solution.
**PS - My inner geek must tell you how much I loved Iron Man and Avengers. Can't wait for the sequels! I was with the rest of the nerds for the 12hr marathon extravaganza. It was really fun.
Yeah, Himmmm explaining Robert Pattinson on CDAN could be SNL-caliber material. Please do it Himmmm!
ReplyDeleteAlso Himmmm as there is a chance you might come back and actually see this....do you have any plans to pursue any further music? I'm a fan of the movies of course, but that CD....
ReplyDeleteI miss Harry too you guys but Hunger Games didn't betray me like Twilight did.
ReplyDeleteAgree with those about the rushed ending, not great to finish a series thinking, "wait, what?" Super interesting concept though.
Good. That movie made a shitload of money, I'd feel ripped off if I were her as well. Although, now I kinda feel like crying because I'm thinking how many years it will take me to make $500 000.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI read the books a few years ago and I was a bit disappointed by Mockingjay as well - and it wasn't just the absence of the Games, I really enjoyed reading about the war and going to the other Districts but I think it was the second half of the book that went sour and changed how I felt about the entire series. That said I do hope Suzanne Collins is busy working on her next book.
ReplyDeleteAlso, are they still planning on splitting Mockingjay into two movies?
ReplyDeleteI think Harry Potter has set a trend with drawing out the last book in a series and I don't really like it - in most cases it's just a cash grab. It was good when Harry Potter did it - I would have been happy if they split every book from the fourth.
I definitely don't think Mockingjay is a strong enough story to make two films. But I'm well aware I'm part of the problem because I'll most likely go see it in its first week.
Indeed Kitty, the quote system and "salary requirements" scheme is common in many pro jobs. Which is why most Hwood biz deals are based around quotes from prior deals.
ReplyDeleteIf you are a writer and get 30k for a story/treatment/pitch this time? Your handlers will ask 40 next time. If you sell a script for 100k against 600k this time? You get more next time. And if you are paid $10 mil. for this role? You ask for more next time unless certain sweeteners are added. The bigegst shift in star salaries came when Jim Carrey, Julia Roberts, and Harrison Ford started getting $20 mil. paychecks for blockbusters (including pay or play deals). Then EVERY marquee star wanted the same deals for delivering in their bankable genres. Finally, ten years after - studios said they could not go upwards indefinitely. So stars began agreeing to bigger back-end participation deals to offset budget killers. Especially when merch deals began to tank and ancillary revenue sources died out due to internet and pirating. So even middle-line stars are getting more percentage deals than ever before.
And yes, I did not mean literally that a star gets only SAG scale if a film tanks. There are built-in floors to deals as to not "blow the quote" for future deals. But unless your own prod. co. has equity in the film - it's not a very big payday if there's no back-end profits. Ask Tom Cruise (Valkyrie, Rock of Ages, etc. versus his MI franchise earnings).
And Brenda? You are sweet. Very sweet. I was always told to never say never, thus I won't say "never". Just "perhaps". However I do know that if you're in the greater L.A. area, there are a few small clubs (jazz and blues) where some stars tend to "sit in" some nights to croon and jam. Johnny Depp does it time to time, as do a few other actors. That's about all I can say because sometimes the lack of raving fanboys, critics, and ill-intentioned hecklers is the attraction to take the risk of performing musically without a net :-)
Oh my heavens, I can't do this anymore
ReplyDelete@Himmm
Have you danced enthusiastically to Luther Vandross' Never Too Much in the last 30 days. Yes or No?
:)
@Sunny - I love you :-)!
ReplyDeleteDamn you, @Sunny--asking that made me wonder what the Iron Man equivalent of the Batlight would be, which somehow brought ET to mind, and now I can't get that goddamned Neil Diamond "Heartlight" song out of my head, damn it...
ReplyDeleteAfter laughing my ass off at a whole slew of Avengers memes last week, and nearly pissing myself over one showing Tony as the newest member of House Stark, what I really, really, REALLY want to see now is an Iron Man/Game of Thrones mashup, w/the former laying down some world-class whoop-ass on House Lannister, or at least certain segments of it. (Leave Tyrion out of this, OK?) ;-)
@Frufa
ReplyDeleteLove you more, but I'm checking over my shoulder for Agent **it to kick our asses :)
@Sunny - I know, I know. She's the Chairperson around here, you know :-).
ReplyDeleteThat is a huge jump in pay, but I guess you have to look at how much money the movie will make overall and then it won't quite seem like such a huge amount. I GUESS.
ReplyDeletePauly D from Jersey Shore made $11mil last year right? Sigh. Life sure isn't fair. ;)
(...)and takes a small upfront and a big backend
ReplyDelete*way too much snickering for a woman my age*
Sorry, Himmmm--someday I'll get my mind out of the gutter, but today is not that day... ;-) (Thanks for the inadvertent chuckle, though; some of my friends have had a truly craptastic day--they had to have a much-loved cat put to sleep, and as a catmom myself, I know how awful that is--so the laughter is much appreciated, even if it was (a) totally unintentional on your part, and (b) living proof that one can be a middle-aged woman and still have the mentality of a 13-year-old boy.)
On a somewhat classier note: more thanks for explaining the whole backend deal business--I assumed that taxes and business fees took up a good-sized chunk of whatever an actor makes, but I hadn't realized before just how big of a chunk. $XXX million dollars doesn't go nearly as far as one might assume when you consider just how many people depend on some portion of it for their living, and how one movie doing well provides so many people with jobs for some time, in addition to providing the rest of us with so much enjoyment.
Anyway, good to see you around, Himmmm, and you do know you have a standing offer of my brownies whenever you're next in Boston, right? :-)
@sunny - I had to watch that video again. Love him(mmm).
ReplyDeletePS - I know I may be reaching, but could himmmm be alluding to Johnny Depp for the answer to Today's Blind Item. He did name JD out of all the possible peeps in LA he could have used to complete that story. Yes, probably reaching...
Waaahhhh! I was finishing up college when HG was filming (I live in CLT). I really really REALLY hope I can be involved somehow in the next films in the area.
ReplyDeleteI'm of course, submitting for C.H. and such things in Wilmi.... ~crosses fingers~
@Robin
ReplyDeleteI was dying at that too, but I've made too many poop jokes the last couple of days to cut and paste like I wanted :) What' the female version of Peter Pan?
*what's
ReplyDelete@dia
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome catch (missed it completely) but I think it's more because JD loves to jam on stage. Frankly I'm surprised he didn't purse music as main gig
Good for but 10M seems paltry compared to some of the numbers other guys are getting and compared to how much the first film made. Either way if I wouldn't complain if I could get just 1% of that 10M. I'd manage to pay for college, my car, and and a decade of apartment rent and have some left over coin to pick up a double chocolate chip frap.
ReplyDelete@sunny - forgot that JD is also a talented musician. Rats. Thought it was too much of a coincidence to not say something. Have a great night!
ReplyDelete@dia
ReplyDeletemaybe it was a clue! Don't listen to my sorry ass. I have been self-medicating my tooth sensitivity with 2 1/2 glasses of vino (trying to get my chiclets back to pearly white. Damn my love of coffee!!) You have a good night too :)
I may have said this before here...or elsewhere...but for some reason I pictured David Tennant as Finnick while reading. I know he's older than the character as written but I can't get that image out of my head now. :)
ReplyDeleteJohnny Depp played a song with The Black Keys (Lonely Boy) during the MTV Movie Awards. He held up his end of the deal. They even let him play some lead.
ReplyDeleteLove love love the personal "chats", I too have a mentality of a 13 year old boy (referring to back end deals...lol)....only I refer to it as a warped sense of humor for this 51 year old woman, and I'm so glad my sons have my same sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteI miss Harry Potter too! I enjoyed the Hunger Games and hope "they" do a good job with the movies, and triple glad for Jennifer getting that much money!
@Himmmmm thanks for the information, sometimes we forget all that goes into a movie and it truly is such an insane/obscene amount of money that some actors get paid, especially when we hear of some of the behaviors and jerks that some actors are, it just does not make sense considering how little our teachers, policemen, firemen, etc., make, it just seems lopsided.
So glad you are posting, you have been missed!
@Sunn,@Frufra, late to the party.
ReplyDeleteI want to see 'Ironman' in a "Free Tibet" t-shirt:)
@T.E. Cuz - I'm in NC, too. From what I've read online, filming of the second film will be very limited in NC. They are mostly shooting in GA and in fact, they are currently doing casting calls in Atlanta.
ReplyDelete