…and a huge one at that.
It’s always a heartbreaking moment when a world famous movie star loses money, and I think it’s terrible that the media are quick to announce the meagre salaries these people are on and not highlight when they are forced to take a pay cut debilitating their daily lifestyle. I mean for god√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s sake, how are these people meant to survive?
Well, according to the Guardian, poor Denzel Washington has taken a massive pay cut to appear on Broadway this year. It seems that since the film he was supposed to be making just now was cancelled, he’s had to find other work to scrape a living.
Washington is to play Brutus in Julius Caesar, and is being paid $1,200 (√Ǭ£650) a week – but he won’t be complaining about that, because he is still taking home $20m (√Ǭ£10.8m) from Universal Pictures, despite the fact that the film he was to receive the money for, American Gangster, has been cancelled.
Can you believe that? $20million for a movie that was never made! The Guardian goes on to say that Variety reported they were tied into pay-or-play deals.
Now I remember seeing this story originally and thought of posting (obviously didn’t because I just searched), and I was stunned at the timing. It was literally the Monday morning that the film was cancelled after the stars signing on the Wednesday or Thursday!
So for being signed up to a movie on which nothing happened and was cancelled within four days, both Washington and Benicio Del Toro received staggering amounts of money.
Don’t get me wrong, despite my scathing tone earlier, I admire their business acumen and if only I were earning as much I would do the same. I would have to say it could also be said it’s very decent of Washington to take the cut to appear elsewhere, he doesn√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t really need the money does he?
