Studios that feel the economic squeeze are making actors pay for it

January 21, 2009 by Lance Carter

Variety has a great article on the state of the film industry. They are reporting that even though studios had another banner year in 2008, they are all saying that they need to reign in their budgets. And who is this affecting most?

Actors.

Is this because of the economy? Movies are still pulling in tons of money every weekend… so most likely not. Is it because they want to stop giving stars tons of money and are blaming it on the economy? Probably yes.

Unless you’re Will Smith, Johnny Depp or a handful of others, nobody is earning their quote right now, said dealmakers. Stories of tough negotiations are widespread: Disney asked Nicolas Cage to cut his price on the next “National Treasure” sequel, and that same studio cut loose a third “Chronicles of Narnia” film.

Then there is comeback kid Mickey Rourke, who is poised to follow his Golden Globe-winning performance in “The Wrestler” with an offer to play the main villain in “Iron Man 2” — but at a lowball opening offer of $250,000 from Marvel; Marvel’s tactics have already prompted Samuel L. Jackson to swear off playing Nick Fury because of a similarly low offer.

And the stars of “Twilight,” Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who are still in talks, will likely cash low-seven-figure upfront paychecks for sequel “New Moon.” They likely won’t, however, be allowed to sink their fangs into first-dollar gross as they hoped. That film’s financier, Summit, hasn’t yet paid first-dollar gross and sells off its foreign territories. One possible compromise is bonuses pegged to box office performance.

Dealmakers said studios that once bought projects that could be bait for movie stars now prefer high concepts that don’t require big stars and directors with their big paychecks. The perfect example is “Twilight,” which became a big hit despite the lack of bankable stars.

“There is no such thing as a quote anymore,” said one agency chief. “You tell them your client’s quote; they smile and say, ‘Here is the offer.’ Even when you agree on a deal, it’s harder to get the trigger pulled, with more signoffs than in the past.”

Those execs, in turn, don’t just worry about strong slates. They are as concerned with margins, and they fret over the possibility that the economic downturn will force New York and other locations to reconsider government-mandated discounts to shoot films there. State budgets, after all, are being cut to austerity levels.

Agents, who urged clients to be patient until studios ramped back up their production machines, now have to go back and explain why those clients are getting haircuts on every deal. Already, several veterans have moved to other agencies; that list includes thesps Anthony Hopkins, William Hurt, Kurt Russell, Jessica Lange and Antonio Banderas; directors such as David O. Russell; and writers including Jose Rivera.

Check out Variety for the rest