Slightly OT, What Do The Big Name Actors Get Paid?

[peter bartle]

What would be the average "day rate" for big name actors in mainstream Hollywood films? I'm talking people like Tom Cruise, Jim Carey, George Clooney, Mel Gibson, etc.

 

Also, what about the main stars in TV series like Lost, Prison Break, CSI, etc, would they be on similar day rates or much lower?...

[David Mullen ASC]

Hmmm... 30 million divided by 100 days of shooting... that comes down to Tom Cruise making $300,000 a day right? The biggest stars can make over 20-mil for a feature.

 

I thought I read somewhere that the cast of "Friends" were each getting paid a million dollars per episode by the time the series ended? Of course, that's not typical.

 

But even on a low-budget million-dollar indie, a semi-name actor may get $100,000 for a few weeks of work.

 

There is a huge disparity between the pay rates of an average SAG actor and a star, just as there is between the crew people and a star.

[Matt Pacini]

My answer: TOO MUCH. And I'm even a die-hard capitalist!

 

I could see some of these guys making 20 mil per film, IF it were some sort of arrangement where they get 1 to 5 million, then the rest hinges on how well the film does.

I realize that it's based on what the perception of sales come from having an A-lister in your film, but a lot of top name actors films bomb miserably, and SOMEONE has to eat all that loss.

 

Some of the pay scales don't make any sense at all to me, like for instance, people like Darryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer & Linda Fiorentino get over a million a film.

Does anyone really think any of them is a draw anymore?

When is the last time you heard someone say "oh, I have to see that film, Linda Fiorentino is in it?"

 

 

MP

[Bob Hayes]

And 30 million is just the tip of the iceberg. Add the extra perks like fuel and crew costs for their private jets and limos. Their staff of personal trainers, assistants, body guards, nannies, and chefs. Don?t forget their exclusive living conditions. It takes a specialized accountant just to keep track of it. Then add the back end deals which can actually drain the profits for any blockbuster. Are they worth it? Probably. These folks are paid because they increase your chances of making money back on your investment. Because they do the publicity and the talk shows. Because if you sink 100 million into a film you need to cover your ass.

[Brad Grimmett]

And 30 million is just the tip of the iceberg. Add the extra perks like fuel and crew costs for their private jets and limos. Their staff of personal trainers, assistants, body guards, nannies, and chefs. Don?t forget their exclusive living conditions. It takes a specialized accountant just to keep track of it.

I saw the budget for The Village recently, and there was (if I remember correctly) $1.5 million set aside for "entourage fees". I couldn't believe they would spend THAT much of their budget just on the friends of actors and perks for actors. Also, a friend of mine told me that on the third Austin Powers movie, Mike Myers had $3 million of discretional money. Money he could spend on whatever he wanted while they were shooting. This was on top of his $20 or $25 million salary.

With that kind of salary and money at their disposal I don't think anyone is too concerned about what their "day rate" is.

For episodic TV, I know that for an actor that isn't a big name previous to the series, $50,000.00 per episode as one of the leads on a network show is around average. They normally have a 3 or 4 year deal to start with and if the show runs longer they will re-negotiate. That works out to about $1.5 million per year. Of course, once they pay their agent, manager, attorney, taxes, etc., it is quite a bit less.

[Greg Gross]

Has anybody seen Mission Impossible 3 yet?

Do you not think Tom Cruise is worth millions?

He gave a spectacular,great,magnificent,un-believable,super star performance.

A billion dollar deal at least!

You guessed it, I'm a Tom Cruise fan.

Does anybody know if his co-star was meant to look like Katie as she sure resembled her?

I thought Vic gave a great performance also,great fan of his.

I wish Tom would do another fighter jock film,buzz the tower a few times.

 

Greg Gross

[peter bartle]

Thanks to everyone for the info... I have a follow up question:

 

What is the usual budget allocation for the average mainstream hollywood feature? I mean, how much is allocated to the main actor, supporting actors, extras, crew, locations, travel, etc etc?.... What is the "average" total budget cost?...

[Dajan Bozanic]

i was told by someone who did some hydraulics work on the set of the matrix that joel silver told him that the final budget for the film way exceeded what they claimed it was publicly.

 

why they would do this or if it is even true is beyond me.

[Guest Alexandre Lucena]

"Money is like manure, no good unless it is spread."

 

unknown author

 

 

 

 

 

My 0.2 cents

 

Alexandre

[Brad Grimmett]

i was told by someone who did some hydraulics work on the set of the matrix that joel silver told him that the final budget for the film way exceeded what they claimed it was publicly.

 

why they would do this or if it is even true is beyond me.

They are working for a publicly traded company. These issues are very sensitive to the stockholders since they're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. And you should never believe anything a producer says to you anyway.....so you never what the truth is.

[Leo Anthony Vale]

"Money is like manure, no good unless it is spread."

 

unknown author

My 0.2 cents

 

Alexandre

 

---A fifth of a cent!?

 

& I thought I was cheap.

 

---LV

[Guest Alexandre Lucena]

Leo,

 

That has probably something to do with the current exchange rate of Brazil´s Real to the Euro.

Or should I raise my rates?

 

Alexandre "tight fisted" Lucena

[Leo Anthony Vale]

Leo,

 

That has probably something to do with the current exchange rate of Brazil´s Real to the Euro.

Or should I raise my rates?

 

Alexandre "tight fisted" Lucena

 

---Usually it's a whole 2.0 cents.

Way back when I lived in LA the parking meters would accept dos centavos coins as dimes.

The peso had just been devalued, that was the closest one could get to free parking in LA.

 

yours in Euroscope,

 

---LV

[Guest Patrick T King]

Perhaps less OT, how much do "big name" cinematographers get paid!

[Trevor Greenfield]

Perhaps less OT, how much do "big name" cinematographers get paid!

 

Too Much! They ought to all be working for copy, meals, and credit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUST KIDDING :D

[Arni Heimir]

Sadly, high salaries for actors is a result of middle management in the movie companies. Studios need big stars to sell their product. Ironically, having Julia Roberts in a movie is becoming the same concept as having Harrison Ford selling Lancias. (Europeans will know what I am talking about). For these massive holding companies, a movie is a product. Not a statement.

 

I agree that every one of these stars are being overpaid. But nobody really owns the companies they are dealing with.

 

On the plus side, most stars piss their money away and are penniless before they know it. E.g. Marlon Brando.

[Brad Grimmett]

On the plus side, most stars piss their money away and are penniless before they know it. E.g. Marlon Brando.

I think some of them probably do piss it away, but even the one's who don't have big bills to pay. Before they even pay taxes many pay their agent 15%, their manager 10%, their attorney 10%, and then they pay 40% or more in taxes. And after all that they most likely pay a publicist and at least a few full time employees. What's really left? I'm not saying I feel sorry for them, but jeez....

[Paul Bruening]

Hey guys,

 

Brad's right. These folks are really more like a corporate entity. Their overhead is murderous. However, I think I could squeek through life on 25% of 25 million per movie.

 

On the other hand, these folks are guaranteed sales. Star-power is the single most important determining factor on sales at every step of a movie's life span. I am the same way as a consumer. I trust Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, et al to screen scripts and production value and deliver a dependable movie product to me, a grumpy and critical movie consumer.

 

Paul

[Hal Smith]

I trust Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, et al to screen scripts and production value and deliver a dependable movie product to me, a grumpy and critical movie consumer.

So what's Robin Williams' problem? He's made movies like "Good Will Hunting" and "Hook" and then turned around and made stinkers like "RV". Whoopy ain't the best judge of projects either.

[Brad Grimmett]

So what's Robin Williams' problem? He's made movies like "Good Will Hunting" and "Hook" and then turned around and made stinkers like "RV". Whoopy ain't the best judge of projects either.

They're essentailly just like us....they want to work and need to work. If I'm not getting offered my dream project I work on what's being offered to me. I think many actors are the same way. They work when they can on what they can. And also, sometimes these "stinkers" aren't stinkers because of the star. Movies can be ruined by directors, producers, or even the studio. Everybody has bills to pay....

[Mark Allen]

Something to keep in mind about actor salaries is that they are, in a way, investors. People don't get super pissed that investors made money off an investment. Actors just put it all in one place. The chances of being a jackpot are incredibly remote - astronomical. The chances of being a working actor though are even hard.

 

If you're talented enough to get an agent who can send you out, you've basically got a full time job of auditioning. If you're not auditioning, your preparing. Then you need to squeeze in as many hours as you can to actually make money because the economics are not in your favor. If you are an actor and you work 3 times during the year (3 day rates), you're probably doing better than all the other actors you know (except for the famous one) - and you made like between $1.5k to $3k on allll the time you spent. But take away 10% for your agent and 15% for your manager.

 

Now, lets say you work enough that you can start asking for flat rates... $60,000 for 3 weeks is a starting place... $2k a day. GREAT! but... by now you need a publicist all year round who is charging you $3k per month... because if you don't have a publicist, you will not get to the next level. Okay - so minus agent, manager, publicist... yeah, you better still work that job.

 

By the time you are making $300k - you have just enough fame that people start to vaguely know you now and then... but now you're getting paid more because just enough people know who you are that you are starting to be paid like a billboard ad. You have crossed into being part of the marketing budget... even if slightly... but now you're needing to turn down films to make sure that you keep moving upward and this might be the only 300k you make. After 10 years of making nothing, you finally get one year and really all you get to keep of this is like 150 minus taxes.... now... considering how long it took you and how much captial investment and risk you STILL are doing pretty lousy return on your investment (ROI). It's not until you break into the million dollar category that you start getting into the realm of successful investor.

 

But that's what it is, it's a winning investment.

 

Sometimes an actor gets super lucky without putting the work in. That happens with DP's too frankly... I bet you can think of one or two. Certainly happens with directors, I can think of a handful.

 

 

I just say this to give a sense of the numbers. if a writer made $250k on a script that took him 3 years to write... that's great, but he was writing 10 year before that and made nothing. So, the amortization needs to be there in thinking about it.

 

Yes, there are royalties too, but the value of that usually goes hand in hand with the value of the upfront payment.

 

All this said..... I DO think that it would be wise to alter the system a little bit that if the actor is helping to market the film by their name (even at the 300k) level it might be smarter to somehow work a participation deal out. It's just hard to make that a trustworthy option. I'm sure actors would be willing to do that more if they trusted the entities... but if peter Jackson has to sue the production company, imagine how helpless and actor would feel about that.

 

but this will have to happen because the situation has reached a point where it can't sustain itself.

 

 

this was totally film-centric and didn't address tv at all.

[John Sprung]

And also, sometimes these "stinkers" aren't stinkers because of the star. Movies can be ruined by directors, producers, or even the studio.

What's worse, there's no way to know until long after the big bucks have been spent, and it's way too late.

 

 

 

-- J.S.