I’ve written before about the generally overlooked fact that there really aren’t movie stars anymore, barring (at this point in time) Will Smith. Weekly Variety agrees, publishing a great in-depth article in the Oct 20 issue entitled “Stars’ Paydays Due for Redo.”
As I’ve noted, the movie (and TV) business is on increasingly shaky ground, as the old financial models crumble around them. Few stars are worth gigantic salaries anymore. The fact is, aside from Smith (and, depending on the movie, Johnny Depp), there is maybe no one whose presence in a film’s cast guarantees a big opening weekend anymore.
Instead, you have what might be called stars with a lower case ‘s’. I wrote of one person who had an exaggerated reputation as a capital ‘S’ Star, “[George] Clooney in particular has an inordinate reputation as a major star, despite the fact that outside of the Ocean’s films (co-starring, it should be noted, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon), he’s had but one real blockbuster film, The Perfect Storm. And that came out eight years ago. Don’t get me wrong, Clooney is a successful mid-range actor [emphasis added], and will often generate smallish but decent profits in films with limited budgets. But in the modern meaning of the word, he’s in no way a ‘star.'”
Variety agrees, noting of the recent bomb Body of Lies, “Suppose Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio had been paid a third of their going rate, and the movie had cost a third less. Would the pic’s $13 million opening frame have been seen as such a disaster?”
Clearly not. Although I used Clooney as an example [fittingly also used as well in the Variety article as an example], the fact is that he’s in a small context pretty successful. This is because he seems to understand (or the people hiring him understand) that he’s an asset when used almost exclusively in mid-range budget films. Most of the movies Clooney appears in, including the art house movies he makes in service of his politics (not a criticism), have budgets in the $30 to 40 million range. At that level, he does bring in an audience that justifies his no doubt lucrative but not insane asking price.
Denzel Washington is another good example. Although considered a big star, he’s made but two movies over the last ten years that domestically grossed over $100 million–which really isn’t that much these days. American Gangster, co-starring fellow supposed heavyweight Russell Crowe, recently drew $130 million. Past that you have to go all the way back to 2000’s Remember the Titans, which made $115. Now add in foreign earnings and home video and such, and those two films where no doubt profitable. But again, I’m not sure Washington’s average grosses really earn him the label ‘movie star,’ at least not as we once used the term in the money-coining heyday of people like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Tom Cruise.
Hollywood seems to be catching on to this. Despite a name director and ‘star’ power in the tandem of Crowe and DiCaprio, Warners wisely limited its exposure on Body of Lies by offering the talent somewhat reduced upfront money in conjunction with more backend participation. In this case, neither of the actors will see that much in additional monies. Which, frankly, isn’t unjust. Indeed, t’s a highly necessary correction from when people like Jim Carrey or Mel Gibson made (from today’s standpoint) insane $20 or 30 million dollar upfront salaries.
Of course, this trickles to smaller names as well. Marvel as a ‘studio’ recently shocked a handful of the nerd demographic by announcing that Iron Man co-star Terence Howard will be replaced by Don Cheadle in Iron Man II. Marvel indicated this was a money decision, which Howard has denied. Some fans instantly attacked Marvel, presumably because it’s a corporation, and hence evil.
However, an obvious point is becoming clear, which is that Howard’s plea of innocence makes no sense. Marvel wouldn’t replace him for no reason. So either he DID in fact ask for more money than they thought he was worth, thinking he could hold them up following Iron Man’s box office success, or else he was a dick to work with. I mean, what other reason would there be? Even so, Marvel’s hardball will pay dividends by reminding actors that they are expendible. As they are.* Doctor Who and Batman and James Bond have been played by a zillion different actors, and they are still going strong.
[*There remain rare exceptions as in Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark or Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. Those parts only exist in the public’s eye in their guises, and they can probably not be replaced and have audiences buy it. Toby Maguire, in contrast, tried to play hardball with Spider-Man and nearly got canned before realizing his peril. In that case, the character of Spider-Man was much bigger than the star playing him, and this is more often the case than not.]Anyway, a great article. Check it out.
