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business newsEnd of Multimillion-Dollar Hollywood Payday?
By
Jordan Stein Jan 21, 2009 2:15 pm
Brief scrutiny of today's headlines.
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But the actor will receive just $250,000 -- pocket change by Hollywood standards -- for his role as the heavy in Marvel's (MVL) upcoming Iron Man sequel. And he won't be the last star to see his paycheck take a haircut.
According to Variety, Tinseltown's venerable industry rag, actors are losing leverage as the economy continues its downward spiral. Even the (surprisingly) bankable Nicolas Cage will see his salary shrink in the next installment of Disney's (DIS) National Treasure franchise.
While fans of schadenfreude may be tickled, tougher negotiations are already starting to affect the industry's unsung heroes - writers (without whom there wouldn't be any rare bursts of inspired genius and all those movies based on 80s TV shows). And it's no wild intellectual leap to assume that key grips and best boys -- real people who earn real-people wages -- will be next.
But the tougher times may usher meritocracy into a town that's always elevated style over substance.
And most of the credit belongs to rubber-faced comedian Jim Carrey.
Carrey took a big, bold risk with his latest picture, Yes Man, foregoing his salary in favor on an equity investment in the film. Doing so lowered the cost of production some $22 million. It also encouraged Carrey to promote the hell out of Yes Man, because his compensation was now completely tied to performance (this is still something of a foreign concept on Wall Street).
With the movie well on its way to a $200 million worldwide haul, it would seem Carrey made the right call.
No positions in stocks mentioned.
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